Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 1, 2026
12:08
Fabrication of High Contrast Gratings for the Spectrum Splitting Dispersive Element in a Concentrated Photovoltaic System
Published on: July 18, 2015
Compact hybrid TM-pass polarizer for silicon-on-insulator platform
Muhammad Alam1, J Stewart Aitchsion, Mohammad Mojahedi
1Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. malam@waves.utoronto.ca
Applied Optics
|May 27, 2011
Summary
Researchers developed a compact TM-pass polarizer using hybrid waveguides. This device effectively blocks TE modes while guiding TM modes, showing promise for silicon photonics applications.
Area of Science:
- Photonics and Waveguide Technology
- Optoelectronics
- Materials Science
Background:
- Hybrid waveguides, featuring a metal plane and distinct high- and low-index layers, are gaining attention for their unique mode guidance properties.
- Transverse Magnetic (TM) and Transverse Electric (TE) modes propagate in separate layers within these structures, allowing for independent control.
- Controlling waveguide dimensions and material properties offers a method to tailor the characteristics of both TM and TE modes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of various parameters on the characteristics of TM and TE modes in hybrid waveguides.
- To demonstrate the feasibility of selectively cutting off TE modes while maintaining TM mode guidance.
- To propose and validate a compact TM-pass polarizer based on these hybrid waveguide properties.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of hybrid waveguide structures comprising a metal plane, high-index medium, and low-index spacer.
- Systematic examination of the effects of waveguide dimensions and material properties on mode behavior.
- Utilizing the property of selective mode cutoff to design a TM-pass polarizer.
- Employing Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) simulations to assess polarizer performance.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated that waveguide dimensions can be tuned to achieve TE mode cutoff while preserving TM mode confinement.
- Proposed a novel TM-pass polarizer leveraging this selective mode control.
- FDTD simulations confirmed high extinction ratios for TE modes.
- Simulations also indicated acceptable insertion losses for TM modes.
Conclusions:
- Hybrid waveguides offer a versatile platform for mode manipulation.
- The proposed TM-pass polarizer is compact, efficient, and compatible with silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology.
- This device presents a promising solution for polarization control in integrated photonic circuits.
