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Silicon-based optical leaky wave antenna with narrow beam radiation
Qi Song1, Salvatore Campione, Ozdal Boyraz
1Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of California, Irvine, California 92617, USA.
Optics Express
|June 7, 2011
Summary
We designed a silicon nitride optical leaky wave antenna (OLWA) with silicon corrugations. This antenna achieves narrow beam radiation and electronic tuning capabilities for optical applications.
Area of Science:
- Photonics and Optics
- Antenna Engineering
- Materials Science
Background:
- Optical leaky wave antennas (OLWAs) are crucial for directed light emission.
- Periodic structures offer control over wave propagation and radiation characteristics.
- Silicon nitride and silicon are established materials in integrated photonics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To design and analyze a dielectric OLWA using periodic silicon corrugations.
- To investigate the relationship between structural parameters and radiation properties.
- To demonstrate electronic tunability of the antenna's radiation pattern.
Main Methods:
- Full-wave electromagnetic simulations to extract leaky wave (LW) complex wavenumber.
- Analysis of propagation constant and attenuation coefficient in the periodic structure.
- Comparison of theoretical LW predictions with simulated far-field radiation patterns.
Main Results:
- Achieved narrow beam radiation with 17.5 dB directivity and 1.05° beam-width at 1.55 μm wavelength.
- Demonstrated agreement between LW theory and full-wave simulations for radiation patterns.
- Showcased electronic tuning of the radiation pattern via carrier injection in silicon corrugations.
Conclusions:
- The proposed silicon nitride OLWA with silicon corrugations effectively produces narrow beam radiation.
- LW complex wavenumber is a key parameter for controlling antenna pointing angle and beam-width.
- Semiconductor corrugations enable dynamic control over the antenna's radiation characteristics.
