Method of fabrication to sharpen corners of Y-branches in integrated optical components and other micro-devices

摘要

Substantially sharp corners for optical waveguides in integrated optical devices, photonic crystal devices, or for micro-devices, can be fabricated. Non-sharp corners such as rounded corners, are first formed using lithographic patterning and vertical etching. Next, isotropic etching is used to sharpen the rounded corners. A monitor can be used to determine if the rounded corners have been sufficiently sharpened by the isotropic etching.