Design of a single-mode tapered waveguide for low-losschip-to-fiber coupling

The novel waveguide structures described in this paper have nonlinearly tapered shapes that result in low radiation losses despite their relatively short lengths. The core at the waveguide endface connected with the fiber has a very small cross section and an expanded mode field with a non-Gaussian shape. The taper structures are analyzed by using an improved step-transition method. This method is a based on the theory of enclosing a waveguide within electrical walls and that can therefore treat the radiation modes in a tapered waveguide as discrete mode spectra. Analyzing the relationships between the lengths and shapes of the tapers and the radiation loss due to the tapers show that appropriately tapered semiconductor waveguides operating at an optical wavelength of 1.55 μm and having a taper length of less than 0.7 mm can have a radiation loss of only 0.1 dB and a coupling loss with a conventional single-mode fiber of less than 0.5 dB     

A broad-band waveguide grating coupler with a subwavelength grating mirror

A new diffractive device for light coupling between a planar optical waveguide and free space is proposed. The device utilizes a second-order waveguide grating to diffract the fundamental waveguide mode into two free propagating beams and a subwavelength grating (SWG) mirror to combine the two free propagating beams into a single beam. The finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations show that the SWG mirror improves the coupling efficiency of the waveguide fundamental mode into the single out-coupled beam from about 30% to 92%. A high efficiency (>90%) is predicted for a broad wavelength range of 1520-1580nm. The proposed device is compact (/spl sim/80 /spl mu/m in length) and it eliminates the need for blazing the waveguide grating.     

Pumping planar waveguide amplifiers using a coupled waveguidesystem

A novel scheme is presented that can be used to efficiently pump optical waveguide amplifiers. It is based on the coupling between two adjacent waveguides, where pump light is gradually coupled from a nonabsorbing pump waveguide into the amplifier waveguide. The coupling between the waveguides in such a configuration is calculated using an improved coupled mode theory (CMT). The proposed distributed coupling scheme can enhance the optical gain in systems that exhibit a reduced pumping efficiency at high pump power. A numerical example is given for a sensitized neodymium-doped polymer waveguide amplifier, in which the optical gain increases from 0.005 dB to 1.6 dB by changing from conventional butt-coupling to distributed coupling     

Design of a Silicon Based High Speed Plasmonic Modulator

In this paper, we propose a silicon-based high-speed plasmonic modulator. The modulator has a double-layer structure with a 16 μm long metal-dielectric-metal plasmonic waveguide at the upper layer and two silicon single-mode waveguides at the bottom layer. The upper-layer plasmonic waveguide acts as a phase shifter and has a dielectric slot that is 30 nm wide. Two taper structures that have gradually varied widths are introduced at the bottom layer to convert the photonic mode into plasmonic-slot mode with improved coupling efficiency. For a modulator with two 1 μm-long mode couplers, simulation shows that there is an insertion loss of less than 11 dB and a half-wave voltage of 3.65 V. The modulation bandwidth of the proposed modulator can be more than 100 GHz without the carrier effect being a limiting factor in silicon. The fabrication process is also discussed, and the proposed design is shown to be feasible with a hybrid of CMOS and polymer technology.     

Vertically tapered epilayers for low-loss waveguide-fiber coupling achieved in a single epitaxial growth run

Next-generation optical-communications systems require on-wafer integration of active and passive opto-electronic components to increase operating speed and reduce packaging costs. Increased coupling efficiencies between semiconductor waveguides and optical fibers are of particular interest. A simple and cost-effective method of fabricating a mode-size converter monolithically integrated with a semiconductor waveguide is presented. An on-wafer mode-size converter reduces the number of interfaces in an opto-electronic circuit and improves the coupling efficiency between semiconductor waveguide and optical fiber. Vertically tapered epilayers are deposited in a single epitaxial growth run using shadow-masked growth by chemical-beam epitaxy, avoiding complex and expensive processing and regrowth stages. Waveguides that taper vertically and horizontally over /spl sim/1 mm for gradual expansion of the mode size are demonstrated. Waveguide loss measurements showed that there was negligible loss across the tapered regions. A loss of <2 dB/interface was achieved compared with /spl sim/8 dB/interface for a butt-coupled discrete device.     

Dielectric bypass waveguide mode order converter

The mode conversion characteristics of a bypass waveguide mode order converter, whose structure is a dielectric waveguide which divides into two branches that later unite with small dividing and uniting angles, are studied experimentally. The working principle of the mode order converter is based on adiabatic mode propagation in the branching waveguide. The features of the device are: 1) it can realize multimode order conversions at the same time, and 2) it does not require phase matching between coupled modes, which relieves the severe tolerance restriction placed on the conventional mode converter with uniform waveguide parameters.     

Theoretical and experimental studies of a spot-size transformerwith integrated waveguide for polarization insensitive opticalamplifiers

The simple fabrication technology of an active waveguide for polarization insensitive optical amplifiers, integrated with tapers and a passive waveguide for fiber coupling, is presented. The spot size transformation along the taper, yielding a mode expansion factor of more than 9 in horizontal direction and about 2 in vertical direction, is experimentally verified and the results are compared to theoretical computations. Using a cleaved single mode fiber, the coupling loss is as low as 2.6 dB with -1-dB positional tolerances of 2.2 μm and 1.5 μm in vertical and horizontal directions. Besides relaxing on fiber coupling, the large spot size transformation in horizontal direction allows for a drastic reduction of the reflection coefficient to less than 10^-3 at a facet tilted by 4° with respect to the waveguide axis     

Low-loss twists in oversized rectangular waveguide

The unwanted mode conversion from twists in overmoded waveguides is calculated from numerical integration of the coupled-mode equations, considering simultaneous coupling of the five lowest-order modes coupled in a twist. Twists with tapered or linearly varying rates of twist are shown to be superior in medium- or broad-band applications to those with uniform twist rate. Measurements consistent with these theoretical calculations are discussed for uniform twists in WR90 waveguide at 60 GHz and for an electroformed twist having a linearly tapered rate of twist in WR187 waveguide from 15.7 to 17.7 GHz. The coupling coefficients needed in the calculations are derived and are compared with the results of other work, including a modal expansion of the dominant mode in twisted waveguide. The work also considers the transmission through an oversized waveguide with a mode converter generating a trapped unwanted mode, and the result for the dependence of the resonance depth on the mode conversion and the attenuation of the trapped mode is found     

Compact HE11 to surface wave converters for high power waveguide dummy loads

The HE₁₁ mode in corrugated circular waveguide can be converted to the EH₁₁ mode (surface wave) by a short, smooth-waveguide phase shift section followed by a short corrugation depth taper. Low-power measurements at 110 GHz in 1.25 in. aluminum waveguide demonstrated approximately 99% conversion with the proper phase shift length. As expected, the conversion efficiency versus length of the phase shifter varied periodically with the period of the TE₁₁ to TM₁₁ beat wavelength. Since the EH₁₁ surface wave is highly attenuated, this type of converter can be used effectively in a compact high-power dummy load.     

In-situ investigation of coupling between a fibre and a slab waveguide

The mode coupling between a fibre and a slab waveguide was experimentally investigated during the formation of the slab. A thin film has been deposited on a polished fibre close to the core-clad interface. By monitoring the optical transmittance of the fibre during the film deposition the coupling efficiency between the formed slab and the fibre has been studied as a function of the film thickness. Strong attenuation in the fibre output has been observed for thickness values at which the propagation constants of the optical mode in the fibre match those of the slab waveguide.<>     

Mode overlap analyses of propagated waves in direct bonded PPMgLN ridge waveguide

Direct bonded periodically poled MgO doped lithium niobate (PPMgLN) ridge waveguide is a new wavelength converter with high conversion efficiency.The optical field distribution of the ridge waveguide is simulated by employing finite-difference method (FDM),the mode overlap of propagated waves in the ridge waveguide is calculated and the relationship between the overlap coefficient and the waveguide structure sizes is also investigated.The overlap coefficient to difference frequency generation (DFG) process conversion efficiency calculation is firstly introduced.     

8mm波段圆波导TE11模式过渡器的设计

模式过渡器是微波毫米波系统中的重要部件,它实现微波在两种尺寸不同的器件间传输。根据耦合波理论推导出耦合波方程,由该方程及模式过渡器设计原理提出一种线性渐变轮廓和两种非线性渐变轮廓的圆波导TE11模式过渡器。利用高频系统仿真软件HFSS分析比较了8mm波段内三种过渡器的具体长度、端口反射系数及相对功率分布,所得结果与设计要求符合,可以在工程中应用。     

TE-TM mode converter in a poled-polymer waveguide

A novel active TE-TM mode converter in a poled electrooptic polymer waveguide is demonstrated. The mode converter utilizes a 45°-off poling configuration, which can be obtained by arranging upper- and lower-stripe poling electrodes with a proper lateral displacement. The mode-conversion properties and electrooptic effect are demonstrated by using a vector-beam propagation method in a buried channel-type waveguide. Applications to integrated polymer-waveguide devices are also suggested     

Numerical study of waveguide endwall slot feed microstrip arrays

An initial numerical study of a 4×4 microstrip array excited by a rectangular waveguide endwall slot is described. This design is a candidate for an LMDS subscriber equipment antenna. Direct coupling via a slot avoids the use of a probe, which prior investigators have shown to be detrimental to manufacturing yield at LMDS band. Tapering the short sides of the rectangular waveguide feed is shown to improve the input impedance matching here, with the optimal taper length being about λ_g/2. The input impedance bandwidth was 5.2%     

太赫兹波导传输中的模式稳定性

太赫兹波在基模波导中传输的欧姆损耗很大,因此在传输太赫兹波时经常采用过模传输的方式来降低传输损耗。但采用过模传输,会引起波导中传输模式的变化,因此如何保证传输中的模式稳定是过模传输中的重要问题。本文采用仿真与实验的方法,对220 GHz圆传输波导中的圆波导半径渐变情况下的模式稳定性进行了研究。结果表明,适当延长渐变波导长度,可以抑制模式耦合,保持单模传输。     

基于狭缝波导的聚合物基微环折射率传感器研究

基于狭缝波导结构,设计了工作波长在890 nm的聚合物基微环。从折射率传感的角度详细分析了狭缝波导的模场特性。分析了波导高度、宽度及狭缝宽度对灵敏度的影响。传统的狭缝波导具有较高的弯曲损耗,这会影响微环谐振器的品质因子Q以及消光比。设计了非对称的狭缝结构,保证波导模式位于波导中央传输,降低弯曲损耗。为了条形波导与狭缝波导更好的耦合,设计了基于多模干涉结构的条形-狭缝波导模式转换器。仿真表明设计的微环谐振器的传感灵敏度达到109 nm/RIU。     

Computer-aided analysis and design of circular waveguide tapers

Two computer programs have been developed for the rigorous performance analysis of circular waveguide tapers. They are based on the direct integration of the coupled wave equations and on a mode-matching procedure applied to a step-ladder equivalent of the taper, respectively. Close agreement has been obtained between the predictions of these two approaches. The computer programs are utilized to examine the usefulness of existing taper design procedures. It has been found that a Dolph-Chebychev design is actually capable of predicting the level of the first unwanted mode, provided that the operational frequency is far above its cutoff. The spurious mode excitation can still be improved by taking into account the reconversion of power from the unwanted into the wanted modes. It has been verified by the computer analysis that the above design procedures are applicable even for frequencies near cutoff of the dominant spurious mode; however, that is at the expense of a certain degradation of the input reflection of the incident mode. A further improvement of the performance is possible only by direct computer optimization of the taper     

A high-efficiency grating coupler between single-mode fiber and silicon-on-insulator waveguide

We present the design of a diffractive grating structure and get the optimal parameters which can achieve more than 75% coupling efficiency (CE) between single-mode fiber and silicon-on-insulator (SOI) waveguide through 2D finite-different time-domain (FDTD) simulation. The proposed architecture has a uniform structure with no bottom reflection element or silicon overlay. The structure, including grating couplers, adiabatic tapers and interconnection waveguides can be fabricated on the SOI waveguide with only a single electron-beam lithography (ICP) step, which is CMOS-compatible. A relatively high coupling efficiency of 47.2% was obtained at a wavelength of 1562 nm.     

A very short planar silica spot-size converter using a nonperiodicsegmented waveguide

To reduce the coupling loss of a fiber-to-ridge waveguide connection, a planar silica spot-size converter for a wavelength of 1.55 μm is implemented in the form of a nonperiodic segmented waveguide structure with irregular tapering. A simple single-step lithography process is sufficient for the fabrication of the planar structures. An evolutionary algorithm has been successfully applied for the optimization. The simulated results obtained with a three-dimensional (3-D) finite difference beam propagation method (FD-BPM) program are compared with measurements of implemented couplers, showing very good agreement. A waveguide-to-fiber coupling efficiency improvement exceeding 2 dB per converter is shown. Structures obtained with this approach are very short (~140 μm) and simple to integrate on the same wafer with other planar structures such as phased arrays or ring resonator structures     

Spot-size converter using vertical ridge taper for low fibre-coupling loss in 2.5%-/spl Delta/ silica waveguides

A novel spot-size converter based on a vertical ridge waveguide taper for super-high-/spl Delta/ silica waveguides is demonstrated. This structure can be formed with a simple fabrication process. The coupling loss between a singlemode fibre and a 2.5%-/spl Delta/ silica waveguide was reduced to 0.31 dB/point compared to 2.7 dB/point for conventional straight waveguides.