Fabrication of silicon reflection-type arrayed-waveguide gratings with distributed Bragg reflectors

Area of Science:

• Photonics
• Integrated Optics
• Semiconductor Devices

Background:

• Arrayed-waveguide gratings (AWGs) are key components in optical communication systems for wavelength division multiplexing.
• Traditional AWGs often require complex curved waveguides, increasing fabrication challenges and device footprint.
• Silicon photonics offers a platform for miniaturizing optical components.

Purpose of the Study:

• To experimentally demonstrate a novel silicon reflection-type AWG design.
• To achieve a compact AWG footprint with high channel density.
• To evaluate the performance of the proposed AWG in terms of loss and crosstalk.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of silicon AWGs utilizing all straight array waveguides.
• Integration of a second-order distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) facet.
• Experimental characterization of channel spacing, on-chip loss, and crosstalk.

Main Results:

• First experimental demonstration of silicon reflection-type AWGs with all straight array waveguides.
• Achieved a compact device footprint of 230 μm × 530 μm.
• Obtained 14 output channels with 400 GHz channel spacing, a minimum on-chip loss of 3.0 dB, and crosstalk below -20 dB.

Conclusions:

• The proposed silicon reflection-type AWG design is a viable solution for compact and efficient optical signal routing.
• The use of straight waveguides and a DBR facet simplifies fabrication and improves performance.
• This technology holds promise for advanced integrated photonic circuits and telecommunications.