Coupling Fibers to Planar Waveguides Using a High-Temperature Epoxy

Computer simulation was used to understand the adhesive-based coupling of optical fibers to planar waveguides with a view to adhesive development. Satisfactory coupling performance could be achieved with facet-angled fibers and waveguides, regardless of the adhesive's index and optical loss. A high-temperature epoxy adhesive was developed for coupling applications based on the simulation. The adhesive is able to achieve a material-related loss of -0.05 dB and a back-reflection loss of less than -50 dB in the coupling. In addition, the adhesive has excellent mechanical and thermal properties and can easily meet the Telcordia standard GR1221 while withstanding high temperatures and high optical power.     

Compact efficient broadband grating coupler for silicon-on-insulator waveguides

We have designed a high-efficiency broadband grating coupler for coupling between silicon-on-insulator (SOI) waveguides and optical fibers. The grating is only 13 microm long and 12 microm wide, and the size of the grooves is optimized numerically. For TE polarization the coupling loss to single-mode fiber is below 1 dB over a 35-nm wavelength range when using SOI with a two-pair bottom reflector. The tolerances to fabrication errors are also calculated.     

Contradirectional couplers in silicon-on-insulator rib waveguides

We demonstrate contradirectional couplers in silicon-on-insulator rib waveguides using a CMOS compatible technology, in which a periodic dielectric perturbation is introduced in the coupling region between two different-sized rib waveguides. This structure enables high fabrication tolerances for narrow-bandwidth add-drop filters, using commercially available deep-ultraviolet lithography, that do not suffer from having a free spectral range. The simulation using coupled-mode theory and mode-profile calculations shows good agreement with experiment. A narrow bandwidth of 0.35?nm and a low loss of less than 1?dB have been achieved experimentally.     

Single etch grating couplers for mass fabrication with DUV lithography

Surface grating couplers enable efficient coupling of light between optical fibers and planar waveguide circuits. While traditional grating designs require two etch steps for efficient coupling to silicon-on-insulator waveguides, recently proposed subwavelength structured gratings can achieve the same coupling efficiencies with a single etch step, thereby significantly reducing fabrication complexity. Here we demonstrate that such couplers can be fabricated on a large scale with ultra-violet lithography, achieving a 5?dB coupling efficiency at 1,550?nm. Through both simulations and experiments we give physical insight on how pattern fidelity impacts the performance of these couplers, and propose strategies to deal with inevitable process variations.     

Grating couplers for thick SOI rib waveguides

The use of grating couplers in high index contrast waveguides like silicon on insulator (SOI) offers several advantages over other coupling approaches, including better alignment tolerances and allowing for wafer-scale testing. The grating couplers were developed for nanometric SOI waveguides (Si-wires), and recently also for micrometric rib waveguides. In this paper we review our work in fiber-to-chip grating couplers for thick SOI rib waveguides, where a coupling efficiency of ?2.2?dB was demonstrated experimentally. We also discuss the use of grating couplers to improve optical throughput (étendue) of a planar waveguide Fourier-Transform (FT) spectrometer implemented in thick rib waveguides.     

Polarization beam splitter with wide bandwidth in air-hole-based periodic dielectric waveguides

A polarization beam splitter with wide bandwidth and simple structure in air-hole-based periodic dielectric waveguides has been proposed and designed. Operation principle of the device is based on different directional coupling properties of beams in TE and TM polarizations in parallel periodic dielectric waveguides. Performances have been evaluated by a finite-difference time-domain simulation. Results show that the polarization beam splitter provides a wide bandwidth of 113 nm with both a high extinction ratio (higher than 21 dB) and a low insertion loss (less than 1.5 dB) for optical communication wavelengths at ∼1.55 μm. Moreover, the performances of the polarization beam splitter are insensitive to longitudinal alignment errors in the coupling region, which is desirable for device fabrication and practical application.     

Acrylic and metal based Y-branch plastic optical fiber splitter with optical NOA63 polymer waveguide taper region

We proposed a simple low-cost acrylic and metal-based Y-branch plastic optical fiber (POF) splitter which utilizes a low cost optical polymer glue NOA63 as the main waveguiding medium at the waveguide taper region. The device is composed of three sections: an input POF waveguide, a middle waveguide taper region and output POF waveguides. A desktop high speed CNC engraver is utilized to produce the mold inserts used for the optical devices. Short POF fibers are inserted into the engraved slots at the input and output ports. UV curable optical polymer glue NOA63 is injected into the waveguide taper region and cured. The assembling is completed when the top plate is positioned to enclose the device structure and connecting screws are secured. Both POF splitters have an average insertion loss of 7.8 dB, coupling ratio of 55: 45 and 57: 43 for the acrylic and metal-based splitters respectively. The devices have excess loss of 4.82 and 4.73 dB for the acrylic and metal-based splitters respectively.     

Fabrication of 1×2 asymmetric plastic optical fiber coupler for portable optical access-card system

We proposed a simple low-cost acrylic and metal-based Y-branch plastic optical fiber (POF) splitter which utilizes a low cost optical polymer glue NOA63 as the main waveguiding medium at the waveguide taper region. The device is composed of three sections: an input POF waveguide, a middle waveguide taper region and output POF waveguides. A desktop high speed CNC engraver is utilized to produce the mold inserts used for the optical devices. Short POF fibers are inserted into the engraved slots at the input and output ports. UV curable optical polymer glue NOA63 is injected into the waveguide taper region and cured. The assembling is completed when the top plate is positioned to enclose the device structure and connecting screws are secured. Both POF splitters have an average insertion loss of 7.8 dB, coupling ratio of 55: 45 and 57: 43 for the acrylic and metal-based splitters respectively. The devices have excess loss of 4.82 and 4.73 dB for the acrylic and metal-based splitters respectively.     

Wideband subwavelength gratings for coupling between silicon-on-insulator waveguides and optical fibers

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a novel subwavelength grating coupler on silicon-on-insulator, for coupling to optical fibers with a wide optical bandwidth. Theoretical analysis and design optimization of the coupler are described. About 73?nm 1?dB bandwidth was experimentally demonstrated with -5.6 dB coupling efficiency. Better than -3.4 dB efficiency with 86?nm 1?dB bandwidth is predicted for these structures with optimized buried oxide thickness.     

长周期波导光栅窄带光滤波器特性的模拟

利用两路平行的刻有长周期光栅(LPWG)波导间耦合的理论模型,研究了LPWG波导光滤波器,利用弱耦合实现高耦合效率和窄带滤波的方法,设计了一个窄带光滤波器。仿真结果表明,在1 530~1 560 nm范围,能实现单一的带通、带阻互补滤波输出,3 dB带宽为1 nm,耦合效率高达98%。     

Optical fiber coupling to single-mode silica-based planar lightwave circuits with fiber-guiding grooves

To enable alignmentfree optical fiber coupling to single-mode silica-based waveguides, fiber-guiding grooves are fabricated in the same substrate as waveguide circuits.These grooves are used successfully to couple optical fiber to Waveguides. An average, fiber-to-waveguide coupling loss of 0.6 dB per interface is obtained with eight arrayedguiding grooves, and it is expected that this will further be reduced to 0.2 dB per interface. The coupling loss varies by ±0.3 dB during thermal cycling between -10°C and +60°C.     

Nanofiltering via integrated liquid core waveguides

We demonstrate and describe how nanoporous liquid core waveguides can exclude scattering particles, making them an ideal integrated platform for analysis of turbid solutions. Milk with 0.5% fat showed an optical propagation loss of 0.05?dB/mm at 633?nm in nanoporous waveguides compared to the 10.6?dB/mm loss in standard cuvette measurements. To examine the nanofiltering effect, waveguides were infiltrated with solutions containing Rhodamine B molecules (1?nm) and 22?nm red fluorescing polystyrene beads. With fluorescence spectroscopy we show that 22?nm beads are excluded, while Rhodamine B molecules penetrate the waveguides. This is further confirmed by fluorescence microscopy, also revealing a homogenous distribution of Rhodamine in the waveguide volume.     

Adaptive slit beam shaping for direct laser written waveguides

We demonstrate an improved method for fabricating optical waveguides in bulk materials by means of femtosecond laser writing. We use an LC spatial light modulator (SLM) to shape the beam focus by generating adaptive slit illumination in the pupil of the objective lens. A diffraction grating is applied in a strip across the SLM to simulate a slit, with the first diffracted order mapped onto the pupil plane of the objective lens while the zeroth order is blocked. This technique enables real-time control of the beam-shaping parameters during writing, facilitating the fabrication of more complicated structures than is possible using nonadaptive methods. Waveguides are demonstrated in fused silica with a coupling loss to single-mode fibers in the range of 0.2 to 0.5 dB and propagation loss <0.4 dB/cm.     

Low-loss polymeric optical waveguides with large cores fabricated by hot embossing

A simple low-cost method of fabricating polymeric optical waveguides with large core sizes for plastic optical fibers is presented. The waveguides are fabricated by hot embossing with an ultraviolet-cured epoxy resin stamper. The stamper is fabricated by replication of a rectangular groove mold that is made from silicone rubber replicated from a ridged original silicon master. The master is fabricated by anisotropic etching of (110) single-crystal silicon. Optical waveguides with large core sizes of 100-500 microm have been fabricated, and a low propagation loss of 0.19 dB/cm at 650 nm was achieved.     

Integration of electro-optic polymer modulators with low-loss fluorinated polymer waveguides

We have demonstrated a hybrid Mach-Zehnder optical modulator consisting of a large-core, low-loss fluorinated passive polymer waveguide and an electro-optic (EO) polymer waveguide. The combination exhibits low fiber coupling loss to the passive waveguide and reduced transmission loss because the EO polymer waveguide is used only in the active region. The two waveguides are connected by vertical tapers that permit low-loss adiabatic coupling between the two modes. The half-wave voltage and the insertion loss of the fabricated modulator are 3.6 V and 6 dB, respectively, at a wavelength of 1.55 microm . The estimated coupling loss with the standard single-mode fiber is ~0.5 dB.     

Estimation of the performance of a 3-dB Y-junction optical coupler with a channel profile of proton-exchanged lithium niobate

A 3-dB optical coupler (power splitter) based on a Y-junction waveguide with a channel profile of proton-exchanged lithium niobate has been modeled. Finite difference beam propagation method has been used to investigate light wave propagation in axially varying waveguides. It is found that the structure splits the input power equally at the Y-junction with an efficiency of 99% and an average excess loss ?0.04 dB. The novelty of the coupling structure proposed is its capability to function as a wavelength-independent 3-dB coupler while maintaining very low-power imbalance for widespread optical communication wavelengths of 1.3 and 1.55 µm.     

Optical loss measurements in femtosecond laser written waveguides in glass

The optical loss is an important parameter for waveguides used in integrated optics. We measured the optical loss in waveguides written in silicate glass slides with high repetition-rate (MHz) femtosecond laser pulses. The average transmission loss of straight waveguides is about 0.3 dB/mm at a wavelength of 633 nm and 0.05 dB/mm at a wavelength of 1.55 μm. The loss is not polarization dependent and the waveguides allow a minimum bending radius of 36 mm without additional loss. The average numerical aperture of the waveguides is 0.065 at a wavelength of 633 nm and 0.045 at a wavelength of 1.55 μm. In straight waveguides more than 90% of the transmission loss is due to scattering.     

Polymer-based waveguides with low propagation loss and polarization-dependent loss

Polymeric optical waveguides based on a new synthesized bisphenol A–aldehyde polymer (PA-1 resin) have been fabricated using photolithography and reactive ion etching technique. The polymer is novel with relatively high refractive index, low birefringence and absorption at the optical communication wavelengths. The single-mode channel waveguides exhibit a propagation loss of 0.41±0.05 dB/cm at a wavelength of and 0.5±0.05 dB/cm at for both the TE and TM polarizations. The polarization-dependent loss of the waveguides is 0.1±0.05 dB/cm at these wavelengths.     

Geometry Parameter Optimization of Large Cross-Sectional S-Shaped Bent Rib Waveguides for Silicon Based Optical Switches

By using a genetic algorithm, geometry parameters of large cross-sectional S-bend rib waveguides are optimized aiming at the least total loss when the propagation loss is considered. Optimized results axe presented as an example of S-bend rib waveguides based on silicon-on-insulator （SOI） 4 × 4 optical switches. The value of 2 dB/cm is given to the propagation loss according to the experimental results. The simulation results indicate that the total loss drops from 1.0002rib down to 0.4375dB without considering a lateral offset. If the offset is adopted, the total loss reduces from 0.5463dB to 0.2365dB. In addition, the effect of the rib height ratio on the loss is analysed, and the optimal ratio is obtained to be 0.55.