High efficiency,small size,and large bandwidth vertical interlayer waveguide coupler

Since the advent of three-dimensional photonic integrated circuits,the realization of efficient and compact optical interconnection between layers has become an important development direction.A vertical interlayer coupler between two silicon layers is presented in this paper.The coupling principle of the directional coupler is analyzed,and the traditional method of using a pair of vertically overlapping inverse taper structures is improved.For the coupling of two rectangular waveguide layers,a pair of nonlinear tapers with offset along the transmission direction is demonstrated.For the coupling of two ridge waveguide layers,a nonlinear taper in each layer is used to achieve high coupling efficiency.The simulation results show that the coupling efficiency of the two structures can reach more than 90%in a wavelength range from 1500 nm to 1650 nm.Moreover,the crosstalk is reduced to less than-50 d B by using multimode waveguides at intersections.The vertical interlayer coupler with a nonlinear taper is expected to realize the miniaturization and dense integration of photonic integrated chips.     

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)     

Analysis and optimisation of bidirectional optical couplers in PCBs

Integrated optical waveguides on board level gain more interest with growing bandwidth. Due to limited space on board level, a new approach is to use bidirectional optical transmission on one single waveguide, to save space. As manufacturing technique we used an ion exchange process, as this has proven to be highly scalable and can be easily integrated into current PCB manufacturing processes. We developed an optical coupler for application in bidirectional optical transmission paths on a single waveguide. Due to the highly multimodal character of the structure, we applied ray tracing techniques to analyse the optical properties. By such means efficiency calculations as well as a transient analysis were possible. We determined important parameters of the structure for optimisation of the coupling efficiency.     

Single mode lasers based on monolithic integration of ridge waveguides with 2D photonic crystal waveguides

The monolithic combination of active light sources with photonic crystal (PC) waveguide components is a key building block for future highly integrated photonic circuits. We demonstrate the coupling of light from an InGaAs/AlGaAs ridge waveguide laser to a monolithically integrated 2D PC waveguide. The PC guide is formed by removing three or five rows in a triangular lattice of air rods etched into the semiconductor. A tapered ridge waveguide geometry is demonstrated to improve coupling efficiency, so that maximum output powers of up to 10 mW from the PC waveguide are achieved. The resulting coupled cavity laser shows single mode emission with side mode suppression ratios > 35 dB over a broad range of injection currents.     

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.     

Polarization-independent grating couplers for silicon-on-insulator nanophotonic waveguides

We propose the use of subwavelength structures in a waveguide grating to achieve polarization-independent coupling of light between an optical fiber and a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) optical waveguide. The subwavelength structure allows the mode effective indices of the TE and TM modes in the grating section to be precisely engineered. We calculate that coupling efficiency of over 64% is possible using the proposed design for polarization-independent coupling between single-mode optical fibers and SOI nanophotonic waveguides.     

Optical waveguide arrays induced in fused silica by void-like defects using femtosecond laser pulses

We report a new approach to the microfabrication of permanent optical waveguide arrays inside fused silica induced by focusing infrared femtosecond laser pulses with microjoule energy. These arrays consist of waveguides limited by void-like damage zones with very loose coupling among adjacent guides, thus allowing the excitation of a single one. The proposed method shows the possibility of using created void-like structures for both the fabrication of integrated optical devices as well as for the control of previously induced refractive index change regions. PACS 42.65.Re; 42.82.Et; 42.79.-e     

Horn structures for integrated optics

The results of an experimental study of linear and shaped horns for integrated optics in Ti-diffused LiNbO₃ waveguide structures are reported. The single mode to single mode coupling efficiencies for various tapers are measured with greater than 90% throughput for shaped horns. The use of tapered horn structures in an optical switch design is discussed.     

锥形脊结构半导体光放大器的有限元分析

为提高半导体光放大器与单模光纤耦合效率，建立了半导体放大器的锥形脊结构模型。在该模型下利用有限元数值模拟方法分析，计算了波导区折射率、锥尖宽度、条形波导尺寸、渐变折射率波导层对锥形脊结构模式扩展的影响。通过完善锥形脊结构参量的设计，获得了锥形脊结构半导体光放大器与单模光纤95％的耦合效率。     

Array waveguide evanescent ribbon coupler for card-to-backplane optical interconnects

A flexible array waveguide evanescent coupler for card-to-backplane optical interconnects is presented. The proposed technique eliminates traditional 90 degrees out-of-plane turns and local waveguide termination of multidrop bus architectures that hinder conventional card-to-backplane optical interconnections. Evanescent coupling between array waveguide ribbons has been successfully demonstrated. Further experiments have been performed to quantify array waveguide coupling length versus transfer efficiency and waveguide misalignment tolerance. Preliminary optical interconnect testing has demonstrated 2.5GHz operation of the coupler ribbons. The successful high-speed coupling confirms the effectiveness of the proposed method for high-speed computing systems.     

Integrated optical proximity microsensor

This paper presents the design, simulation and experimental results of an integrated proximity sensor manufactured on silicon substrate. The sensor was designed for microrobotic applications like integration into a microgripper arm or detection of the position of gripper arms relative to an object. The structure is based on an SU8 polymeric optical waveguide splitted into three arms, integrated with a multielement photodetector on silicon substrate. Each element of the photodetector is a metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) photodiode with Ti/Al Schottky interdigitated electrodes.The operation principle of this sensor consists in the light coupling in the central arm of the optical waveguide, interaction with the object (reflection) of the radiation which exits from this principal arm, the coupling of the “affected” radiation which comes back through the end of the waveguide and its splitting into three arms of the optical waveguide. From the optical waveguide, the light is coupled in photodiode and the photogenerated carriers are collected to the electrodes giving the electrical signal which is read and processed in real time.The optimal parameters of the waveguide (width, thicknesses of the core and the claddings) of the photodetector and the coupling between them were defined by simulation, using FDTD and BeamProp method (Opti FDTD software). Our microsensor can detect the position of an object in the range of 0-300 μm, as position sensor and with high precision in the range of zero to twice the wavelength, as proximity sensor.     

Polymer-waveguide-based vertical coupler

A 2 × 2 polymer-waveguide-based vertical coupler was designed and fabricated. The relationships between the coupling efficiency and the key optical design parameters of vertical coupler (such as the crossing angle, gap thickness between two waveguide layers and the waveguide dimensions) were investigated by using beam propagation method. Based on these simulations, a fully polymer vertical coupler was demonstrated.     

Emissions of Photonic Crystal Waveguides with Discretely Modulated Surfaces

Transmission properties of photonic crystal （PC） waveguides with discretely modulated exit surfaces are investigated numerically using the finite-difference time-domain （FDTD） method. Unlike the case of periodically modulated surfaces, where the transmission beam tends to be a single and directional beam, when the exit surfaces are modulated only at several discrete points, the emission power tends to split into multiple and directional beams. We explain this phenomenon using a multiple point source interference model. Based on these results, we propose a 1-to-N beam splitter, and numerically realized high efficiency coupling between a PC sub-wavelength waveguide and three traditional dielectric waveguides with a total efficiency larger than 92%. This simple, easy fabrication, and controllable mechanism may find more potential applications in integrated optical circuits.     

跑道型结构光子晶体波导定向耦合器

鉴于波导定向耦合器在集成光路以及光电集成方面的广泛应用,提出了一种基于光子晶体波导间高效耦合的光子晶体定向耦合器。通过主波导和耦合波导间的耦合,可以实现对波长为1 490 nm和1 550 nm电磁波的高效分光。在将器件长度控制在30 μm左右的同时,其总效率高达93.05%。另外,发现主波导和耦合波导间介质柱结构参数对电磁波的耦合周期有着极大的影响。并通过将介质柱沿z方向拉伸0.1a(a为晶格周期),设计了工作波长为1 530 nm和1 540 nm的光子晶体定向耦合器,器件长度仅为60 μm。通过拉伸介质柱的纵向长度,可以大幅减小耦合周期,这对缩小器件体积以及实现更为密集的波分复用有着重要的意义。     

Integrated Nd-doped borosilicate glass microsphere laser

A neodymium-doped BK7 glass microsphere laser integrated with a planar ion-exchanged waveguide pumped at 0.8 μm has been demonstrated. The pump radiation was launched by evanescent coupling from the waveguide, and the signal radiation was coupled out through the same waveguide, offering the potential for robustly assembled fully integrated active optical circuits. The dependence of the lasing spectra on pump power and wavelength were studied in detail to clarify the whispering-gallery-mode behavior at the pump and lasing wavelengths.     

Theory of absorption integrated optical sensor of gaseous materials

The eigen and noneigen (leaky) modes of a three-layer planar integrated optical waveguide are described. The dispersion relation of a three-layer planar waveguide and other dependences are derived, and the cutoff conditions are analyzed. The diagram of propagation constants of the guided and radiation modes of an irregular asymmetric three-layer waveguide and the dependence of the electric field amplitudes of radiation modes of substrate on vertical coordinate in a tantalum integrated optical waveguide are presented. The operating principles of an absorption integrated optical waveguide sensor are investigated. The dependences of sensitivity of an integrated optical waveguide sensor on the sensory cell length, the coupling efficiency of the laser radiation into the waveguide, the absorption cross-section of the studied material, and the level of additive statistical noise are investigated. Some of the prospective areas of application of integrated-optical waveguide sensors are outlined.     

点缺陷二维光子晶体波导的出射光集束

光子晶体器件在高密度集成光通信中有广泛的应用,为解决光子晶体波导出射光场的空间控制,采用时域有限差分法分析光子晶体波导结构的缺陷传播特性,提出基于点缺陷优化波导结构,通过在波导出射口两侧加上点缺陷,出射光方向性有显著提高,实现三点光源干涉系统的光集束。模拟结果表明缺陷态越靠近能带结构中央,共振腔的耦合效率越高;相反,缺陷态越靠近能带结构边缘位置,则共振腔耦合效率越低,因此,选取禁带区域四分之一处对应的点缺陷,可以有效实现波导出射的光集束。     

光纤到户用光电集成单纤双向器件的研究

研究了光电集成器件的耦合与封装的关键技术,首先分析光纤与PLC波导的z向偏移及角度偏移与耦合效率的关系,发布其3dB容差分别为70μm及5°以内,并分析存在8°反射角及填充折射率匹配胶时耦合情况并仿真验证。该器件采用表面贴光子技术、无源对准、非气密封装实现光与电、有无源的多功能结合。测试了器件的激光器与探测器性能,测试结果表明,该光电集成器件边模抑制比、灵敏度等参量优良。     

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。