The Design of Single Mode Large Cross-section Glass-based Waveguides for Photonic Integrated Circuits

This paper presents our recent simulation results and novel designs of single mode large cross-section glass-based waveguides for photonic integrated circuits (PICs). Simulations were performed using an in-house Finite Difference (FD) based mode solver and the FD Beam propagation Method (FD-BPM). Our simulation results show that this innovative technology could provide a simplified means to couple optical energy efficiently between optical components in a single chip. This would provide the base for the future large-scale integration of optical components in PICs. The novel idea of using single mode large cross-section glass-based waveguides as an optical integration platform is an evolutionary innovative solution for the monolithic integration of optical components, in which the glass-based structures act both as waveguides and as an optical bench for integration. This allows easy and efficient optical coupling between optical components and optical fibres, removing costly and tedious alignment problems and considerably reducing optical coupling losses in PICs. We expect that the glass-based waveguide PICs technology will enable the emergence of a new generation of compact, reliable, high speed, and multifunctional devices.     

Experimental mode coupling analysis in optical waveguides for sensor and component optimization

A computer controlled mode coupling analyser is conceived and described in detail to characterize and to analyse mode coupling in all known kinds of cylindrical, multimode, step index, optical waveguides (CMSIOWs) by experimental measurement. These waveguides can be present in many ways like simple fibres, multimode fibre-optic sensors (MFOS) or other optical components like couplers or modulators. The computer processed results of measurements lead to transfer matrices and modulation transfer matrices. The transfer matrices describe the light distribution in the far field of these waveguides depending on the direction and power of the light that is injected into it. By visualizing the modulation transfer matrices in the form of mesh diagrams, the influence of external physical parameters, like a measured variable, on the mode coupling mechanisms inside CMSIOWs can be shown directly. The computer controlled mode coupling analyser will make the optimization of MFOS more efficient and, moreover, it will ease modelling of CMSIOWs and define their properties. The potential field of applications for the mode coupling analyser will be in engineering and optimization of intrinsic multimode fibre-optic sensors and their components.     

Leaky modes of channel waveguides with uniaxial anisotropy

An exact numerical method for analyzing the propagation properties of leaky modes of inhomogeneous channel optical waveguides with a complex uniaxial diagonal permittivity tensor is developed. The method is based on solving the system of integro-differential equations formulated with respect to transversal components of the magnetic field and the longitudinal component of the electric field. Some results of investigation of leaky modes of diffused channel waveguides in LiNbO₃ and LiTaO₃ crystals are given.     

Low-loss silica-on-silicon waveguides

Waveguiding structures are one of the fundamental components of integrated photonic circuitry. Devices with low loss and a linear response across a wide wavelength range are especially desirable. In the present Letter, we have successfully developed and characterized low-loss silica waveguides integrated on a silicon substrate with a novel suspended cylinder geometry. The unique design creates a device that is effectively air clad, resulting in a large refractive index contrast for improved optical field confinement. The measured loss is constant from 658 to 1550 nm, and it is independent of the polarization of the input light and the input power.     

Full-vectorial analysis of bending waveguides using finite difference method based on H-fields in cylindrical coordinate systems

A full-vectorial (FV) analysis of optical dielectric waveguide bends by using finite difference (FD) method in terms of magnetic field components is developed in a local cylindrical coordinate system. The perfectly matched layer absorbing boundary conditions via the complex coordinate stretching technique are incorporated into the FV wave equations for effectively demonstrating the leaky nature of waveguide bends, and a six-point FD scheme is constructed to approximate the cross-coupling terms for improving the convergent behavior. The leaky modes of a typical rib waveguide bend are calculated and the complex propagation constants and the field patterns for TE- and TM-like modes are obtained. Solutions are good agreement with those from the film mode matching method, which shows the validity and utility of the established method.     

An Analytical Model for the Coupling Between the Array Waveguides in AWGs and Star Couplers

The purpose of this paper is to present an accurate analytical solution for the coupling between the array waveguides in arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) devices and star couplers. The results of this analysis will be useful for developing numerical models of AWGs and star couplers, as well as other optical waveguide components containing arrays of coupled waveguides.     

PDL free plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition SiC optical waveguides and devices

Planar silicon carbide (SiC) waveguides are proposed for fabrication on a silicon substrate with an oxide isolation layer. Using post deposition annealing it is possible to achieve low polarisation-dependent loss (PDL) within optical SiC waveguides fabricated using a low temperature deposition technique. The proposed waveguides are optically characterised and successfully used in power splitters and vibration sensors. Results before and after annealing cycles for those devices are discussed. The interesting optical characteristics of SiC waveguides as well as the first passive components presented open the way for photonic sensing in harsh environment where SiC is a very promising material.     

基于变量变换伽辽金法光波导半矢量分析

基于变量变换伽辽金法(VTGM),建立了半矢量分析光波导本征值问题的数理模型;获得了矩形光波导、脊形光波导的本征模的模场分布及归一化传播常数,计算结果和已发表的结果非常接近.半矢量VTGM采用平面映射边界条件,避免了边界截断,又能反映模场的偏振特性,是一种较为理想的光子器件分析方法.     

Negative index and indefinite media waveguide couplers

We study the coupling interaction between dielectric waveguides and coupling elements made from negative-refracting media. The coupling configuration consists of a length of dielectric waveguide, which terminates either directly into or near a planar layer composed of the negative-refracting medium, and is followed by a second waveguide. Radiation output from the first waveguide is refocused at the position of the second waveguide, so that the negative-refracting layer serves as a coupler between the waveguides. Because both isotropic negative-index layers and bilayers of indefinite media can recover the near-field, evanescent components of a source field distribution, the coupling between the input and output waveguides can be highly efficient – in principle providing perfect, lossless coupling. We present simulations and some initial experimental results illustrating the coupling effect, and speculate on the potential for optical fiber couplers and integrated modulators. PACS 42.79.Gn; 41.20.-q; 42.70.-a     

Nanosilicon photonics

Silicon photonics is no longer an emerging field of research and technology but a present reality with commercial products available on the market, where low‐dimensional silicon (nanosilicon or nano‐Si) can play a fundamental role. After a brief history of the field, the optical properties of silicon reduced to nanometric dimensions are introduced. The use of nano‐Si, in the form of Si nanocrystals, in the main building blocks of silicon photonics (waveguides, modulators, sources and detectors) is reviewed and discussed. Recent advances of nano‐Si devices such as waveguides, optical resonators (linear, rings, and disks) are treated. Emphasis is placed on the visible optical gain properties of nano‐Si and to the sensitization effect on Er ions to achieve infrared light amplification. The possibility of electrical injection in light‐emitting diodes is presented as well as the recent attempts to exploit nano‐Si for solar cells. In addition, nonlinear optical effects that will enable fast all‐optical switches are described.     

Coupled mode analysis of light modulation in dielectric waveguides

A detailed analysis of electrooptic light modulation in optical waveguides is presented. Several important problems of a waveguide modulator, such as the difference of waveguide axes from crystalline electrooptic ones, the distribution of transverse and longitudinal field components of light modes, and the traveling-wave property of the modulating field, are discussed. The analysis is based on the coupled mode theory, regarding the modulation as the coupling among sidebands of unperturbed waveguide modes. The coupled mode equation is derived for the modulation in optical waveguides. It can be solved if the normal modes of the waveguide are given. Actually the equation is solved for the modulation in dielectric slab waveguides and the mechanism of modulation is discussed. The results of the analysis are applied to designing two types of waveguide modulators. In an example (10.6 μm modulator with a GaAs slab waveguide) a new efficient crystal orientation is found. The calculated phase retardation with this orientation is 0.13 rad/(V·cm) with a 1 μm thick slab. Another example of a 0.633 μm modulator using a LiTaO₃ crystal as a substrate is also described.     

Dielectric‐loaded plasmonic waveguide components: Going practical

Surface plasmon propagating modes supported by metal/dielectric interfaces in various configurations can be used for radiation guiding similarly to conventional dielectric waveguides. Plasmonic waveguides offer two attractive features: subdiffraction mode confinement and the presence of conducting elements at the mode‐field maximum. The first feature can be exploited to realize ultrahigh density of nanophotonics components, whereas the second feature enables the development of dynamic components controlling the plasmon propagation with ultralow signals, minimizing heat dissipation in switching elements. While the first feature is yet to be brought close to the domain of practical applications because of high propagation losses, the second one is already being investigated for bringing down power requirements in optical communication systems. In this review, the latest application‐oriented research on radiation modulation and routing using thermo‐optic dielectric‐loaded plasmonic waveguide components integrated with silicon‐based photonic waveguides is overviewed. Their employment under conditions of real telecommunications is addressed, highlighting challenges and perspectives.     

小尺寸低折射率差硅基二氧化硅阵列波导光栅

随着阵列波导光栅(Arrayed Waveguide Grating,AWG)型器件在光通信系统中的大规模应用,对低成本AWG芯片的需求越来越多.在各种降成本方案中,减小AWG芯片的尺寸是最有效的方法之一.本文介绍了一种新型小尺寸低折射率差硅基二氧化硅AWG的设计.在该AWG中,输入波导/输出波导与平板波导连接的部分制...     

High order matched interface and boundary methods for the Helmholtz equation in media with arbitrarily curved interfaces

This work overcomes the difficulty of the previous matched interface and boundary (MIB) method in dealing with interfaces with non-constant curvatures for optical waveguide analysis. This difficulty is essentially bypassed by avoiding the use of local cylindrical coordinates in the improved MIB method. Instead, novel jump conditions are derived along global Cartesian directions for the transverse magnetic field components. Effective interface treatments are proposed to rigorously impose jump conditions across arbitrarily curved interfaces based on a simple Cartesian grid. Even though each field component satisfies the scalar Helmholtz equation, the enforcement of jump conditions couples two transverse magnetic field components, so that the resulting MIB method is a full-vectorial approach for the modal analysis of optical waveguides. The numerical performance of the proposed MIB method is investigated by considering interface problems with both constant and general curvatures. The MIB method is shown to be able to deliver a fourth order of accuracy in all cases, even when a high frequency solution is involved.     

Theoretical analysis of bragg electrostrictive mixing in optical waveguides

A theoretical analysis of electrostrictive mixing in optical waveguides using the power balance approach is presented. The high optical power densities attainable in optical waveguides provide a means to make this effect appreciable to generate acoustic surface waves of the Rayleigh type. The tensor property of the acoustic wave and the transverse field distributions of the optical and acoustic waves are included in the analysis. Numerical calculation for a tellurite glass, fused quartz waveguide structure indicates a possibility for cw operation.     

Numerical calculations of modes of optical waveguides with two-dimensional refractive index profiles by a field correction method

Abstact We describe a numerical method devised to calculate the lower-order modes of optical waveguides with two-dimensional transverse index profiles. This method is based on finite-difference approximation of the scalar wave equation and the minimization of the error in the field shape of a mode. The field correction method can be applied to waveguides with large index steps and generates the mode's scalar propagation constant and its field. To test the field correction method, it is applied to a three-layer optical fibre and the results are compared with exact solutions. The error in the calculations of the modal effective indices is found to be of the order of 10^-6. Example mode calculations are given for fused couplers and rib waveguides.     

星形光波导耦合器的耦合特性分析

根据TE0模光波导的本征场分布、瑞利索末菲标量衍射积分公式和激励源与光波导耦合的匹配效率公式,给出光波导端面衍射和耦合的归一化发射系数和接收系数计算公式,推导出光波导端面非接触耦合的耦合效率计算公式。光波导模场分布采用高斯函数近似表达,给出简洁的计算光波导端面非接触耦合的耦合效率函数表达式。最后,基于星形光波导耦合器结构参量的特点,将累加运算采用积分运算近似表达,给出星形光波导耦合器接收光波导总的接收效率与耦合器基本参量的关系,阐明了星形光波导耦合器的耦合特性。     

Integrated waveguide sensor utilizing organic photodiodes

We present a novel optical sensor platform, combining monolithically integrated ring‐like sensor waveguides together with ring‐shaped thin‐film organic photodiodes (OPDs) on one substrate. The OPDs serve as integrated light detectors, simplifying the detection system by minimizing the number of required optical components. The waveguide structures, including a means of coupling light in and out of the waveguides, serve as sensing elements. The functionality of the concept is demonstrated by an integrated carbon dioxide sensor, utilizing absorbance as sensing principle. The integrated optical sensor platform is suitable for the parallel detection of multiple parameters in a single sensor chip using sensor arrays. (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Circular Fourier analysis of modes in optical waveguides under critical and supercritical conditions

An extension of the circular Fourier analysis of the mode field is presented that makes it possible to obtain a successively correctable solution to the scalar waveguide problem posed for 3D optical waveguides. The critical frequencies of rectangular and elliptic waveguides, as well as the characteristics of leaky modes in microstructural optical fibers formed by elliptical air channels, are studied.     

Enhancement of single mode operation in coaxial optical waveguide using DB boundary conditions

In this study, a competent numerical strategy to compute the dispersion of optical waveguides is presented and propagation of electromagnetic waves in a coaxial optical waveguide with DB boundary conditions is instigated. For this intend, cylindrical coordinates are here being used to derive the DB boundary conditions and to obtain field components for the modes. The propagation constant for the waveguide to be studied is determined by solving the Bessel and the modified Bessel functions. The cutoff frequencies for various lower order modes have been calculated and their dispersion characteristics are plotted correspondingly. The behavior of the coaxial optical waveguide under DB boundary conditions is shown to be significantly different from that of coaxial optical waveguide and conventional optical waveguide under traditional or tangential boundary conditions. Finally, the effect of waveguide dimensions on the mode cutoff frequencies and fabrication issues are also addressed.