Work

On‐Chip Microheater‐Based Back‐End‐of‐Line Compatible Synthesis of VO 2 Films for Reconfigurable Silicon Photonics

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: ABSTRACT We report a back‐end‐of‐line (BEOL)‐compatible approach for integrating high‐quality vanadium dioxide (VO 2 ) into silicon photonic platforms using on‐chip doped silicon microheaters as localized thermal processors. VO 2 is a promising material for reconfigurable photonics due to its large refractive index modulation and fast, energy‐efficient metal‐insulator transition (MIT). However, its integration is hindered by the high thermal budget required for crystallization and the difficulty of patterning. In this work, vanadium metal is deposited at room temperature and patterned via a lift‐off process, followed by microheater‐assisted local oxidation and crystallization to form VO 2 without exceeding the global BEOL temperature constraints. Structural and spectroscopic characterization confirms the formation of VO 2 with high crystallinity and accurate stoichiometry. Device‐level integration is demonstrated using silicon racetrack resonators, where the measured switching contrast shows excellent agreement with simulations based on literature optical constants, indicating material quality comparable to that of high‐temperature‐grown films. The microheater platform enables both material synthesis and reversible MIT switching, and is inherently scalable via parallel electrical biasing for wafer‐scale processing. Beyond VO 2 , this approach provides a general pathway for integrating thermally demanding functional materials into complementary‐metal‐oxide‐semiconductor (CMOS)‐compatible systems.

Source: Advanced Optical Materials

DOI: 10.1002/adom.71766