Abstract
Submicron silicon optical waveguides are key elements for micro/nano silicon photonics. However, surface roughness generated during microfabrication usually induces high propagation loss. Additionally, the coupling between the external light source and the waveguide is generally inefficient since the core dimension of the waveguide is relatively small. This research proposes using surface atom migration to make submicron silicon photonic wires, three-dimensional tapered couplers and microtoroid resonators. The experimental result showed the propagation loss can be as low as 1.26 dB/cm and the coupler loss can be less than 2.5 dB.