BPM Simulation and Comparison of 1 × 2 Directional Waveguide Coupling and Y-Junction Coupling Silicon-on-Insulator Optical Couplers

For developing large area opto-electronic silicon-on-insulator (SOI) devices, the optical coupler is a basic key device. In this article, the authors design and simulate 1 2 2 directional waveguide coupling and Y-branch coupling optical couplers based on Unibond SOI rib waveguides. The beam propagation method (BPM) is used for light propagation analysis. The simulation results and comparisons of the two kinds of optical couplers are reported. The S-bend waveguide for attaching to the two kinds of SOI optical coupler is also analyzed by BPM. We find that the directional coupler has lower power loss, but the Y-junction coupler is more wavelength insensitive with the same device size and splitting angle. The fabrication tolerance analysis shows Y-junction coupler has better fabrication characteristics.     

Optimized design for an efficient 3-dB single-mode Y-junction

A design for a 3-dB single-mode Y-junction has been developed and investigated by the beam propagation method with a purpose of decreasing radiation loss in the case of power dividers. The design has two aspects. The first introduces a general design of the boundaries of the 3-dB Y-junction. The second aspect is the replacement of a strip of the guiding material with a lower refractive index near the branching vertex. The design is optimized for low radiation loss, so the output power is increased by 42% over a conventional design.     

1×4 buried optical power splitter fabricated by Tl~+-Na~+ ion-exchange

A new 1×4 buried optical power splitter with curved Y-junction structure has been successfully designed by a beam propagation method (BPM) software and fabricated by two-step ion-exchange in glass. The optical qualities of the device are favorable in comparison with that obtained with dry etching fabrication techniques.     

一种新型SOI Mach-Zehnder干涉型电光调制器的设计

在超紧缩双曲锥形3dB多模干涉耦合器的基础上,设计了一种新的Silicon-on-insulator (SOI) Mach-Zehnder干涉型电光调制器.与传统的Y分支器相比,双曲锥形3dB耦合器的制作容差大,而长度缩短了近30%,使得整个器件的尺寸大幅减小.调制区采用横向注入的PIN结构,模拟结果表明:当外加偏压为0.86V时,器件的调制深度最大,此时注入电流为13.2mA,对应的器件功耗为11.4mW.     

Paired interference 3-dB coupler based on SOI rib waveguides with anisotropic chemical wet etching

A 3-dB paired interference (PI) optical coupler in silicon-on-insulator (SOI) based on rib waveguides with trapezoidal cross section was designed with simulation by a modified finite-difference beam propagation method (FD-BPM) and fabricated by potassium hydroxide (KOH) anisotropic chemical wet etching. Theoretically, tolerances of width, length,and port distance are more than 1, 100, and 1 μm, respectively.Smooth interface was obtained with the propagation loss of 1.1 dB/crn at the wavelength of 1.55μm. The coupler has a good uniformity of 0.2 dB and low excess loss of less than 2 dB.     

Optical Code Generating Device Using 1×N Asymmetric Hollow Waveguide Couplers

An optical code generating device for security access system application is presented. The code generating device constructed using asymmetric hollow optical waveguide coupler design provides a unique series of output light intensities which are successively used as an optical code. The design of the waveguide is made using two major components which are asymmetric Yjunction splitter and a linear taper. Waveguiding is done using a hollow waveguide structure. Construction of higher level 1×N hollow waveguide coupler is done utilizing a basic 1×2 asymmetric waveguide coupler design together with a cascaded design scheme. Nonsequential ray tracing of the asymmetric hollow optical waveguide couplers is performed to predict the optical transmission properties of the waveguide. A representation of the code combination that can be generated from the device is obtained using combinatory number theory.     

Novel composite beam splitter with directional coupler and Y-junction using photonic crystal

We propose and analyze a novel multiway high efficiency composite beam splitter based on propagation properties of the light waves in directional coupler and Y-junction. The splitting properties of the beam splitter have been numerically simulated and analyzed using the PWE and FDTD methods. Then in order to obtain equal distribution of power, we place and adjust some additional rods in the output waveguides to optimize the devices. It was shown that a large separating angle, a high beam rate, high flexibility, has been extended to have more light output channels in the beam splitter.     

Waveguide lenses with multimode interference for low-loss slab propagation

It is shown that a nearly ideal two-dimensional focusing Gaussian beam can be synthesized by use of a linear combination of the two lowest-order even modes of an optical waveguide. This property can be used to couple laterally guided modes across slab waveguide regions with low loss. The technique is illustrated by use of a conventional multimode interference (MMI) geometry, in which the MMI coupler transforms the fundamental mode of an initial waveguide into a focusing Gaussian beam, which is then fed to a slab region. Two-dimensional beam propagation simulations show that the beam does not initially diverge in the slab region, but rather comes to a focus. A second MMI coupler then transforms the diverging beam back to the initial mode. A structure is designed that can couple the fundamental mode of a 9-microm-wide waveguide across an 88-microm-long slab region with only a 0.036-dB loss. This technique can be applied to improve the performance of small-angle waveguide crossings and integrated turning mirrors.     

Novel 0.98/1.55 μm dichroic coupler based on lithium niobate

A novel 0.98/1.55 μm dichroic coupler with high-extinction ratio and low insertion loss has been designed and implemented on LiNbO₃ for Erbium-doped fiber amplifier applications. The design of dichroic coupler is based on a modified directional coupler structure with a single bend in each channel. Beam propagation method is used to analyze the coupler performance to get the optimal parameters for device design, such as channel width, titanium thickness, channel gap, and interaction length. Samples with the signal coupling ratio as high as 100% and pumping power ratio as high as 95% have been obtained.     

不同衬底折射率的多模干涉耦合器

设计了一种具有不同衬底折射率的新型多模干涉耦合器,在多模波导区引入了更强的光场限制,激发更高阶的导模,从而提高映像质量.采用二维有限差分波束传播方法模拟了这种新型的结构,结果表明:与传统结构相比,以功率均衡性和附加损耗为衡量标准的映像质量有了明显提高.这种结构可以应用于三维SOI脊形波导中.     

4 x 4 optical cross-point packet switch matrix with minimized path-dependent optical gain

Packet-switching characteristics are optimized across an integrated 4 x 4 optical cross-point switch matrix based on active vertical coupler switch cells. Optical gain is demonstrated across the entire matrix with a <3-dB difference between the shortest and longest switching paths.     

一种实现光子晶体波导定向耦合型多路光均分的新方法

将多光子晶体单模波导平行、邻近放置构成定向耦合器. 依据自映像原理,数值分析了输入光场对称入射时,该系统中光的传播行为. 基于此结构,以三、四通道为例,设计了超微多路光分束器,并仅通过对称地改变耦合区中两个介质柱的有效折射率,使光场在横向发生重新分布,实现了输出能量的均分或自由分配. 和已报道结果相比,此调制方法更为简单易行而且效率更高,并可以推广到具有更多输出通道的光分束器中,在未来的集成光回路中具有广泛的应用价值. 关键词： 光子晶体波导 定向耦合器 分束器 能量均分     

Measurement of fiber propagation constants using a prism-fiber coupler

We report on the use of a prism-fiber coupler to determine the propagation constants for the scalar modes in an optical fiber by measuring, respectively, the incident angle, θ_i, and the position of the m-lines coupled out of the fiber by the prism coupler. The position is related to the value of the corresponding propagation constant. The degeneracy of the modes is shown on the m-line photographs. Good agreement is obtained between measured and calculated values of the propagation constants.     

Compact 3-dB tapered multimode interference coupler in silicon-on-insulator

We have fabricated a compact 3-dB multimode interference coupler with a large silicon-on-insulator cross section. To reduce the length of the usual symmetric interference multimode interference coupler, we propose using a parabolically tapered structure. The length of the device is 398microm . The device has a uniformity of 0.28 dB.     

聚合物Y分支脊形波导的单模条件

有机聚合物光波导近年来成为研究的热点,它为实现下一代的光电集成回路提供了另外一种选择。它所具有的一系列优点如下:(1)与传统的材料相比,有机聚合物光波导容易在各种衬底上制作,其制作成本也得以降低,并且使得与有源器件如激光器、调制器、探测器的单片集成成为可能;(2)有机聚合物波导材料的折射率可以进行调整以满足耦合损耗和弯曲损耗的折中选择;(3)此外,有机聚合物的热光系数比SiO₂大一个数量级,而其导热系数却比SiO₂和Si小得多。有机聚合物Y分支是强度调制器和光开关等器件的重要组成。光波导器件在和单模光纤一起使用时要求其实现单模传输,这样可以减少耦合损耗。利用变分有效折射率法计算了聚合物Y分支脊形波导的光场分布。变分有效折射率法是变分法(VM)和有效折射率法(EIM)的结合,它结合了两种方法各自的优点,能够很精确地模拟光场分布情况。利用变分有效折射率法验证了满足单模传输的脊形波导结构参数:芯层厚度为1.5μm,脊高为0.2μm,脊宽为5μm。     

Slow light transmission in a photonic crystal power splitter with parallel outputs

In this paper, we investigate coupling of light to slow modes in a photonic crystal power splitter composed of a Y-junction and two 60° bends. First, a combination of two cascaded bends which is commonly used in integrated photonic crystal circuits is studied in slow light frequency regime. We propose a structure that its transmission spectrum covers the high group-index frequencies near the band edge. Also, by structural modifications, high transmission near to 95% is achieved in slow light bandwidth. Next, we study the complete structure of a photonic crystal power splitter with parallel outputs based on a Y-junction integrated with two 60° bends. Using modified bends and reducing sharpness of Y-junction, the efficiency of splitting increases in both high and low group-index frequency bands. The optimized structure has an average efficiency of 82% in slow mode regime. This structure can be used in photonic crystal based slow light devices, such as Mach-Zehnder interferometers.     

Efficient L-band ASE Generation Using a C/L-Band Coupler, an Optical Mirror and a FBG

A new structure for efficient and cost-effective L-band amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) generation was experimentally investigated and demonstrated using a C/L-band coupler, an optical mirror, and a fiber Bragg grating (FBG). The proposed structure has about 1.5 dB increase of the power around 1570 nm compared with conventional one. Various structures for power enhancement were also considered.     

拉曼放大辅助波长可选择的全光开关

使用3-dB耦合器组成M-Z干涉仪,在M-Z干涉仪的一臂加入高非线性光纤(HNLF)组成的反向拉曼放大器,改变放大器的泵浦波长及强度,可实现波长可选择的全光开关。其功能可用于波分复用(WDM)系统,对不同波长的上、下载选择有很大的应用意义。理论分析了实现这一功能的可行性和参数选择,考虑拉曼放大并伴有交叉相位调制(XPM)引起信号光的相移,推导分析了在引入放大的同时又引入相移,怎样选择放大和相位匹配问题,来实现波长可选择的光开关的要求。     

一种硅基SiO_2波导耦合器的设计与分析

波导耦合器是组成光纤传感系统和光纤通信系统光收发组件及模块的重要元器件,是实现光收发模块一体化光电集成的基础。给出了一种用光纤陀螺系统的X型四端口波导耦合器的工作原理,采用有效折射率法和BPM(Beam propagation method)法建立了耦合器的数学模型,计算并分析了耦合器尺寸在尽可能小的情况下和在满足单模传输的条件下耦合器的耦合系数、有效耦合长度、分光比以及回波损耗等参数之间的关系,并对其关键技术进行了系统的研究。仿真结果表明,所设计的波导耦合器在低损耗情况下分光比可达到50%∶50%,耦合器全长为33.5mm,输入输出波导间距为410μm,芯层截面积为6μm×6μm。     

SOI通道转换型多模干涉耦合器的研究

设计和制作了基于SOI的通道转换型多模干涉耦合器。用二维BPM方法分析了耦合器的性能与多模波导宽度和长度的依赖关系.制作出的耦合器能实现良好的通道转换,器件的功率转换比为73,附加损耗为2.2 dB.提高器件制作的精度将能进一步改善耦合器的性能.