Summary

     During the last years, due to the Information Society in which we live, the amount of information
transmitted through communication networks is increasing exponentially mainly due to the well-known
Information Society age in which the world is currently involved. In this time period, more users demand
for new applications that require a large bandwidth. This need for higher bandwidth causes that the
existing processing electronic in communications nodes is reaching the maximum achievable processing
bit-rate and new technologies are required to perform these functions. The solution seems to be in the
light. The physical medium that carries light from one place to other in the optical domain provides
higher bandwidth and avoids undesirable opto-electronic conversions. A first step to make Processing
photonics is the development of all optical logic gates.
     The objective of this Thesis is the study and characterization of an XOR logic gate as a first
step in processing photonics. The manufacture is carried out using CMOS mass manufacturing technology.
We have studied a new waveguide called slot-waveguide in which the optical field is confined in a
nanoscale region by increasing its intensity. Its dimensions are optimized to maximize the non-linear
effects, and coupling techniques for reducing insertion losses were investigated. A new material based
on silicon nanocrystals in SiO2 were used to achieve non-linear effects. It was also studied ring
resonators structures and Mach-Zehnder Interferometers to make an all optical switch and an XOR logic gate,
respectively. Furthermore, a 90° phase shifter based on a resonant ring was also analyzed to be integrated
in a photonic vectorial modulator.
     All these structures were fabricated and characterized experimentally. It was obtained the propagation
losses of the slot-waveguides. The response of the ring resonators structures and the Mach-Zehnder
Interferometers were characterized achieving their optimal parameters. Finally both the optical switch
and the optical XOR logic gate were experimentally characterized.