Handbook of Silicon Based MEMS Materials and Technologies

13.1. Optical Properties of Silicon and Related Materials

In this chapter we review the most relevant optical properties of silicon and the ways to manipulate them. The optical properties of some other materials commonly used in optical MEMS, such as silicon dioxide and silicon nitride, are also briefly reviewed. We concentrate on the bulk properties, but one should take into account that thin films and microstructures, such as waveguides, may have somewhat different properties depending on their process parameters, dimensions, geometry and stress distribution. The two fundamental optical parameters considered here for any material are the refractive index n and the extinction coefficient k. Together they define the complex refractive index ...