Compact Broadband Directional Couplers Using Subwavelength Gratings

We experimentally demonstrate compact broadband directional couplers using subwavelength gratings for silicon-on-insulator wafers with silicon layers of 220 nm. The dispersion properties of the optical modes are engineered using subwavelength gratings, which allow broadband operation. Finite-differe...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yun Wang, Zeqin Lu, Minglei Ma, Han Yun, Fan Zhang, Nicolas A. F. Jaeger, Lukas Chrostowski
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IEEE 2016-01-01
Series:IEEE Photonics Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7480755/
Description
Summary:We experimentally demonstrate compact broadband directional couplers using subwavelength gratings for silicon-on-insulator wafers with silicon layers of 220 nm. The dispersion properties of the optical modes are engineered using subwavelength gratings, which allow broadband operation. Finite-difference time-domain (FDTD)-based band structure calculations, with significantly reduced simulation time, were used to analyze the design, which included both the structure and material dispersions. Compact broadband direction couplers, with device lengths shorter than 14 <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu\text{m}$</tex-math></inline-formula>, which cover a bandwidth of 100 nm for power splitting ratios of 50/50, 40/60, 30/70, and 20/80, are designed and fabricated for the fundamental transverse electric mode with a central operating wavelength of 1550 nm.
ISSN:1943-0655