数码照相法测量离子交换平面光波导损耗特性

利用数码相机对离子交换平面玻璃光波导传输线进行数字成像,根据传输线上的光强分布拟合出光强传输衰减曲线,计算出波导的传输损耗.对光波导进行退火处理,研究了波导退火前后的传输损耗特性.退火后0阶模式下传输损耗由2.148 9 dB·cm－1降为0.746 0 dB·cm－1.结果表明,波导的传输损耗是随着模阶数的增加而递增,适当的退火处理明显改善了离子交换波导的质量.     

Stamp printing of silicon-nanomembrane-based photonic devices onto flexible substrates with a suspended configuration

In this Letter, we demonstrate for the first time (to our best knowledge) stamp printing of silicon nanomembrane (SiNM)-based in-plane photonic devices onto a flexible substrate using a modified transfer printing method that utilizes a suspended configuration, which can adjust the adhesion between the released SiNM and the "handle" silicon wafer. With this method, 230 nm thick, 30 μm wide, and up to 5.7 cm long SiNM-based waveguides are transferred to flexible Kapton films with >90% transfer yield. The propagation loss of the transferred waveguides is measured to be ~1.1 dB/cm. Scalability of this approach to transfer intricate structures, such as photonic crystal waveguides and multimode interference couplers with a minimum feature size of 200 nm and 2 μm, respectively, is also demonstrated.     

Polymer waveguides from alicyclic methacrylate copolymer fabricated by deep-UV exposure

We have investigated the fabrication of waveguides from alicyclic methacrylate copolymer based on refractive-index modification by deep-UV exposure. By optimizing the UV-exposure process, we were able to obtain single-mode waveguides with a propagation loss of 0.8 dB/cm at 1550 nm, which is due only to material losses in this wavelength range. The loss obtained here is comparable with that of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) waveguides fabricated by deep-UV exposure. The fabricated waveguide is also single mode at 808 nm, and its propagation loss is 0.6 dB/cm. This alicyclic methacrylate copolymer is a promising material for the fabrication of polymer waveguides by use of deep-UV exposure.     

A waveguide amplifier based on a counterdirectional coupler

The propagation of continuous-wave radiation in tunnel-coupled waveguides, one of which is characterized by a negative refraction and linear losses while the other is made of an ordinary dielectric and represents a linear amplifier, is analyzed theoretically. We found that, in the case of linear waveguides, the losses can be compensated at certain values of the pump-wave amplitude depending on values of the gain and loss coefficients in the corresponding waveguides, resulting in the amplification of radiation at the output of the waveguide with the negative refraction. The Kerr nonlinearity of the amplifying waveguide prevents the compensation of losses due to the violation of the phase-matching condition between the coupled waves in a counterdirectional coupler.     

Toward low-loss photonic crystal waveguides in InP/InGaAsP heterostructures

Line-defect photonic crystal waveguides exhibit severe propagation losses if they are implemented in semiconductor heterostructures with a weak refractive index contrast. We present, for what we believe is the first time, experimental structures for which we have evidence that fabrication imperfections are not the limiting factor in terms of propagation losses. We demonstrate a loss figure of 335±5 dB/cm, which is an improvement by a factor of about 2 with respect to state-of-the-art values. Simulations show that even lower losses can be obtained with different waveguide geometries. In other words, the dominant loss mechanism is related to the waveguide design, and losses are not expected to decrease upon further optimization of the fabrication process.     

Silicon-based rectangular hollow integrated waveguides

This paper describes the simulation, fabrication and characterization of silicon-based rectangular hollow waveguides. Numerical evaluation of such structures has been done using both modal propagation and ray tracing, low total losses and multimodal behavior, even for small core sizes, are predicted. Since light propagation in rectangular hollow waveguides strongly depends on the Fresnel coefficients at the facets, the technological processes have been optimized to obtain wall angles close to 89° and wall and base average roughness of 57 nm and <5 nm, respectively. Hence, roughness is negligible to the working wavelength (678 nm). Measured waveguides show total losses close to 6.0 dB for 3.0 cm length. The non-lineal response due to mode filtering in hollow waveguides has also been experimentally observed. Finally, loss simulations and measurements are in agreement, especially for the widest waveguides. For thinner structures, the reduction of the depth due to the DRIE process, together with the blundering of the vertices, causes a dramatic attenuation increase. All these effects should be taken into consideration when defining hollow structures.     

Losses of infrared biconcave metallic whispering-gallery waveguides

The losses for TE and TM waves in infrared biconcave metallic waveguides are calculated. The guiding region is approximated first as a portion of a sphere, and then of an oblate spheroid; Maxwell's equations are then set up in corresponding coordinate systems. They are solved to find the leading-order term of all 6 field components. These are used to express the boundary conditions at the finite-conductivity wall, and to calculate the fields propagating into the metal. From these, the propagation losses in the guide are calculated. It is found in particular that the TE losses depend only weakly on the curling curvature. Thus it should be possible to make MIR waveguides exhibiting losses of a few percent per turn, for most anticipated shape choices.     

SOI nanophotonic waveguide structures fabricated with deep UV lithography

To reduce the dimensions of photonic integrated circuits, high-contrast wavelength-scale structures are needed. We developed a fabrication process for Silicon-on-insulator nanophotonics, based on standard CMOS processing techniques with deep UV lithography. Measurements using either end-fire incoupling or grating-based fibre couplers show photonic crystal waveguides with moderate propagation losses (7.5 dB/mm) and photonic wires with very low propagation losses (0.24 dB/mm).     

银纳米线表面等离激元波导的能量损耗

金属纳米结构的表面等离激元可以突破光学衍射极限,为光子器件的微型化和集成光学芯片的实现奠定基础.基于表面等离激元的各种基本光学元件已经研制出来.然而,由于金属结构的固有欧姆损耗以及向衬底的辐射损耗等,表面等离激元的传输能量损耗较大,极大地制约了其在纳米光子器件和回路中的应用.研究能量损耗的影响因素以及如何有效降低能量损耗对未来光子器件的实际应用具有重要意义.本文从纳米线表面等离激元的基本模式出发,介绍了它在不同条件下的场分布和传输特性,在此基础上着重讨论纳米线表面等离激元传输损耗的影响因素和测量方法以及目前常用的降低传输损耗的思路.最后给出总结以及如何进一步降低能量损耗方法的展望.表面等离激元能量损耗的相关研究对于纳米光子器件的设计和集成光子回路的构建有着重要作用.     

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.     

Femtosecond pulse propagation in silicon waveguides: Variational approach and its advantages

We investigate the propagation characteristics of ultrafast pulses inside silicon waveguides considering frequency chirp associated with each input pulse. Effects of linear losses, two-photon absorption, and free-carrier dynamics are included analytically within the framework of a modified variational formalism and the results are validated by comparing them with full numerical simulations. It is found that an initial chirp helps in maintaining the pulse shape and spectrum in the anomalous-dispersion regime, thereby resulting in soliton-like propagation of ultrashort optical pulses.     

Strong field localization in subwavelength metal-dielectric optical waveguides

Detailed calculations of eigenmodes of waveguiding structures made of silver and glass and containing coaxial cables with a nanoscale cross section of different configurations are conducted. In particular, the study focuses on optical coaxial waveguides with the core made in the form of a thin metallic cylinder filled with a dielectric. We show that these waveguides support relatively low-loss propagation of radiation that is strongly localized in the central region, has phase velocity approaching the speed of light and predominant electric-field orientation (dipole type). Optical characteristics of such waveguides are compared with those of coaxial-type waveguides containing a continuous central filament made of metal and with a multilayer structure. Using numeric modeling, we established that the proposed type of the waveguide enables the transmission of an optical image with relatively low losses with a submicron resolution over a distance considerably longer than its cross section. A typical propagation length in the waveguides based on silver and glass with the refractive index of about 1.5 at a wavelength of 500 nm is about 1700 nm.     

Analysis of electrooptically induced waveguides in strontium barium niobate and optical modulators

An electrooptically induced optical waveguide can be formed by applying a DC voltage between electrodes fabricated on the surface of a crystal with strong electrooptic coefficients (for example, strontium barium niobate). Calculations of the refractive index profile and the optical mode size for such waveguides are presented. Approximate solutions for the fundamental mode are used to analyse the power coupling between a single-mode step-profile fibre and these waveguides. The power transmission losses in the straight and S-shaped waveguides are estimated by using a finite-difference beam propagation method (FD-BPM). The calculations predict that a new kind of modulator/switch can be realized with the induced waveguides. The important characteristics of these devices are discussed and compared with LiNbO₃ optical waveguide modulators.     

Gap maps, diffraction losses, and exciton–polaritons in photonic crystal slabs

A theory of photonic crystal (PhC) slabs is described, which relies on an expansion in the basis of guided modes of an effective homogeneous waveguide and on treating the coupling to radiative modes and the resulting losses by perturbation theory. The following applications are discussed for the case of a high-index membrane: gap maps for photonic lattices in a waveguide; exciton–polariton states, when the PhC slab contains a quantum well with an excitonic resonance; propagation losses of line-defect modes in W1 waveguides, also in the presence of disorder; the quality factors of photonic nanocavities. In particular, we predict that disorder-induced losses below 0.2 dB/mm can be achieved in state-of-the-art samples by increasing the channel width of W1 waveguides.     

An Extension of the Effective Index Method to Analyze Leakage Losses in Rib Type Waveguides

An extension of the effective index method is proposed as a tool to investigate leakage losses in two-dimensional waveguides. The above method, referred to as the Extended Effective Index Method (EEIM), utilizes the Transfer Matrix Technique (TMT) for the calculation of the complex propagation constants. The results show that the EEIM can be applied to conventional rib leaky waveguides as well as to rib ARROW leaky waveguides. The results for rib ARROW waveguides show excellent agreement when compared to those obtained with Finite Element Method.     

K-Na离子交换单模平面波导的制备及其表征

通过K-Na离子交换技术制备了多模玻璃平面波导.采用棱镜耦合技术测量了波导的有效折射率,用IWKB方法拟合得到K-Na离子交换波导的折射率分布符合高斯分布,由色散曲线得到单模波导的制备条件(即扩散深度范围),从而得出单模波导的离子交换时间范围,制备出单模波导,并通过求解WKB色散方程得出单模波导的表面折射率.用普通数码相机,通过对离子交换平面玻璃光波导传输线进行数字成像,根据传输线上的光强分布拟合出光强传输衰减曲线,计算出单模波导的传输损耗大约为0.4 dB/cm.     

Buried channel waveguides in neodymium-doped KGd(WO4)2 fabricated by low-repetition-rate femtosecond laser writing

Symmetric buried waveguides were fabricated in neodymium-doped KGd(WO₄)₂ by using femtosecond laser writing in the low-frequency regime. Due to stress-induced index changes in the regions surrounding the focal spot, mode guidance was demonstrated and low propagation losses of ∼0.2 dB/cm were obtained. Based on the comparison of the waveguides fabricated with different parameters, we present further significant analysis to get low-loss waveguides with symmetrical mode profiles. According to the reconstructed index profile, the mode distribution was numerically calculated by the beam propagation method, which showed a reasonable agreement with the experimental results.     

Method for measuring waveguide propagation losses by means of a Mach–Zehnder Interferometer structure

In this paper, a method for measuring waveguide propagation losses by means of a Mach–Zehnder Interferometer (MZI) structure is reported. The method, based on the analysis of the transmission spectra of asymmetric MZIs, enables the propagation losses of the optical waveguides to be calculated without the requirement of identical coupling conditions for each measurement. In addition, the power imbalance of the branching structure in the MZI can also be obtained. Our theoretical analysis is supported by experimental measurements.     

Quasi-soliton propagation in dispersion-engineered silicon nanowires

Soliton-like propagation of ultra-short pulses in dispersion-engineered silicon photonic wires is theoretically investigated via the nonlinear Schrödinger equation. It is shown that by proper patterning of silicon waveguides, the engineering of group velocity dispersion can effectively compensate for both linear and two-photon absorption-induced nonlinear losses. Quasi-soliton propagation is demonstrated for 100-fs pulses over large propagation lengths for a realistic silicon wire of optimally patterned waveguide width.     

Two-stage mode finder for waveguides with a 2D cross-section

We present a fast and efficient method to find the vectorial eigenmodes of waveguides with an arbitrary 2D cross-section. The method can deal with both material losses and radiation losses (through perfectly matched layer boundary conditions). In the first stage of the method, a coarse estimate of the propagation constants is found using a plane-wave method. In the second stage, these estimates are refined using a mode-matching method.