Design of Simple Wavelength or Polarization Filter/Combiner

We present an analytical and numerical analysis of a simple wavelength or polarization filter/combiner constructed from three single-mode rectangular waveguides. The device has the advantage of easy fabrication using existing planar light guide techniques and can be designed to discriminate between optical signals with distinct polarizations at a given wavelength or between signals at a fixed polarization with a wavelength separation of 9~nm or more. It is therefore well suited for CWDM metro-communication, local area network, sensor, or control applications.