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.     

Reduction of sidewall roughness in silicon-on-insulator rib waveguides

Silicon-on-insulator (SOI) rib waveguides with residual sidewall roughness were achieved through inductive coupled plasma reactive ion etching (ICPRIE) process. Sidewall roughness is the dominant scattering loss source. Conventional ICPRIE could result in the sidewall ripples derived from the etch/deposition cycle steps. Mixed ICPRIE process and hydrogen annealing were used to improve the sidewall roughness of SOI rib waveguides and eliminate the sidewall ripples. Scan electron microscope and atomic force microscope were used to demonstrate the surface profiles of the sidewall. The results indicated that the sidewall roughness could be low down to 0.3 nm level by optimization and combination of these two techniques and the ripples disappeared. According to the scattering theory developed by Payne and Lacey, the scattering loss could be reduced to below 0.01 dB/cm.     

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.     

Low-loss submicrometer silicon-on-insulator rib waveguides and corner mirrors

Rib microwaveguides are demonstrated on silicon-on-insulator substrates with Si film thickness of either 380 or 200 nm and a width of 1 microm. Corner mirrors that allow compact 90 degrees turns between two perpendicular waveguides are characterized. Measured propagation losses are approximately 0.4 dB/cm and approximately 0.5 dB/cm for 380-nm and 200-nm Si film, respectively, and mirror losses are approximately 1 dB. This allows the development of applications such as optical interconnects in integrated circuits over propagation distances larger than several centimeters.     

Improvement of sidewall surface roughness in silicon-on-insulator rib waveguides

Silicon-on-insulator (SOI) rib waveguides with residual sidewall roughness were fabricated through inductive coupled plasma reactive ion etching (ICPRIE) process. The sidewall surface morphology was characterized by scan electron microscope (SEM), and the root mean square (rms) roughness of the sidewall surface was directly measured by atomic force microscope (AFM). Sidewall surface roughness is the dominant scattering loss source. The ripples on the sidewall surface could be eliminated by mixed ICPRIE, and the rms roughness could be low down to 0.3 nm after thermal oxidation and hf rinse. According to the scattering theory developed by Payne and Lacey, the scattering loss could be minimized to below 0.01 dB/cm. The results indicated that the scattering loss would be a sharp fall by the combination with these two techniques.PACS 42.82.Et; 42.81.Dp; 52.80.Yr; 68.37.Ps; 81.65.Ps     

SOI纳米线波导导光机理的物理分析

SOI（silicon-on-insulator）纳米线波导及其器件是近年来光电子学领域研究的重点内容之一．文章从基本的导波光学理论出发,引入古斯一汉森位移理论,对SOI纳米线波导导光的物理机制进行了分析并给出了物理解释和模拟结果．     

SOI纳米线波导导光机理的物理分析

SOI（silicon-on-insulator）纳米线波导及其器件是近年来光电子学领域研究的重点内容之一.文章从基本的导波光学理论出发,引入古斯-汉森位移理论,对SOI纳米线波导导光的物理机制进行了分析并给出了物理解释和模拟结果.     

Efficient couplers for photonic crystal waveguides

We use two-dimensional simulations to study the design of tapers to provide efficient, low reflection coupling between a waveguide in a two-dimensional photonic crystal (PC) and free space. We find that, largely independent of the PC parameters, or of the length and width of the tapered region, the same type of concave, horn-shaped tapering profile is optimal for coupling from the waveguide into free space, and significantly out-performs the widely used linear taper. We also find that optimal tapers can radiate nearly Gaussian beams, and therefore they can also provide efficient coupling of Gaussian beams from free space into the PC waveguide. These properties are better exhibited by rod-type PCs with E_z polarization than by hole-type PCs with H_z polarization. This study of taper couplers exemplifies a design strategy for photonic circuits which optimizes positioning of the cylinders immediately surrounding the light path, and then builds the rest of the crystal structure around these cylinders.     

Magneto-optical nonreciprocal phase shift in garnet/silicon-on-insulator waveguides

We demonstrate the integration of a single-crystal magneto-optical film onto thin silicon-on-insulator (SOI) waveguides by use of direct wafer bonding. Simulations show that the high confinement and asymmetric structure of SOI allows an enhancement of approximately 3x over the nonreciprocal phase shift achieved in previous designs; this value is confirmed by our measurements. Our structure will allow compact magneto-optical nonreciprocal devices, such as isolators, integrated on a silicon waveguiding platform.     

Coupled-mode theory of the Raman effect in silicon-on-insulator waveguides

Coupled-mode theory is used to calculate Raman gain and spontaneous efficiency in silicon waveguides with cross-sectional areas ranging from 0.16 to 16 microm2. We find a monotonic increase in the Raman gain as the waveguide cross section decreases for the range of dimensions considered. It is also found that mode coupling between the Stokes modes is insignificant, and thus polarization multiplexing is possible. The results also demonstrate that for submicrometer waveguide dimensions the Einstein relation between spontaneous efficiency and stimulated gain no longer holds.     

基于硅基槽波导的单纤三向滤波器的研究

设计了基于硅基槽波导的微环谐振型单纤三向滤波器。基于电磁场理论得到了二维情形下的硅基槽波导的模场及有效折射率随波长的变化关系,在此基础上,利用硅基槽微环谐振腔谐振波长与微环半径的关系,优化得到了可将1490nm和1550nm两个下载波长分开的谐振环半径,并同时将1310nm波长上传,三个波长信号从不同端口输出,成功地实现了三向器滤波功能。利用传递函数法模拟了所设计的硅基槽微环谐振型三向滤波器的输出光谱,结果显示其串扰可低至-16.9dB。     

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.     

ARROW-based silicon-on-insulator photonic crystal waveguides with reduced losses

We employ an antiresonant reflecting layers arrangement with silicon-on-insulator based photonic crystal waveguides. The 3D FDTD numerical modelling reveals improved transmission in such structures with a promising potential for their application in photonic circuits.     

Low-loss, low-cross-talk crossings for silicon-on-insulator nanophotonic waveguides

We present compact crossings for silicon-on-insulator photonic wires. The waveguides are broadened using a 3 microm parabolic taper in each arm. By locally applying a lower index contrast using a double-etch technique, loss of confinement is reduced and 97.5% transmission (-1.7 dB) is achieved with only -40 dB cross talk.     

InGaAs/InAlAs多量子阱脊形波导及定向耦合器光波特性准矢量分析

提出了一种基于级数展开的三维准矢量束传播法(SE-QV-BPM)用以分析由InGaAs/InAlAs多量子阱构成的脊形光波导及定向耦合器.结果表明，刻蚀深度相同时，TM模比TE模在水平方向限制强，且TM模的模场在波导角上出现畸变；波导间距相同时，定向耦合器TM波的耦合长度大于TE波的耦合长度，对偏振态敏感.分析获得了浅/深刻脊形光波导承载的准矢量TE/TM基模、定向耦合器承载的TE/TM偶/奇模的模场分布及其有效折射率，模拟了光场在定向耦合器中的传输演变情况.另外，SE-QV-BPM导出矩阵小，计算效率高 关键词： 级数展开 准矢量束传播法 多量子阱 InGaAs/InAlAs     

Numerical analyses of optical couplers for planar waveguides

The paper presents the results of numerical analyses of optical structures realized in the form of planar waveguides made of materials with high values of the refractive index n ??1.85. The analysed structures consist of a waveguide and input-output systems. Input-output couplers are realized in the form of prisms as well as Bragg??s grating couplers. Numerical investigations were carried out by applying the finite difference time domain (FDTD) method.     

Circular arc plasmonic waveguide couplers between two-dimensional dielectric slab waveguides and plasmonic waveguides

We investigate the properties of arc plasmonic waveguide coupler between two-dimensional dielectric slab waveguides and plasmonic waveguides with two-dimensional finite difference time domain methods. The simulation results show that transmission efficiency between high index dielectric slab waveguides with width 300 nm and silver-air-silver waveguides with width 40 nm connected by the coupler can reach to 90.4% at optical communication wavelength. And, by optimizing the shapes near the ends of the coupler, the transmission efficiency can be improved to 98.4%.     

Supermode dispersion and waveguide-to-slot mode transition in arrays of silicon-on-insulator waveguides

In this Letter, we report group index measurements of the supermodes of an array of two strongly coupled silicon-on-insulator waveguides. We observe coupling-induced dispersion that is greater than the material and waveguide dispersion of the individual waveguides. We demonstrate that the system transforms from supporting the two supermodes associated with two coupled waveguides to the single mode of a slot waveguide within the investigated spectral range. During the cutoff of the antisymmetric supermode, an anti-crossing between the symmetric TM and antisymmetric TE supermodes has been observed.     

Reduced lateral leakage losses of TM-like modes in silicon-on-insulator ridge waveguides

We numerically investigate the lateral leakage loss behavior for TM-like modes in silicon-on-insulator ridge waveguides. In order to improve the leakage loss properties, we propose a novel ridge waveguide structure where a dimple is introduced at the ridge center. It is shown that the ridge waveguide with a dimple is both low loss and fabrication tolerant. This behavior is predicted by not only an accurate finite-element-based analysis but also a simple, phenomenological effective-index-based analysis.