Reflective arrayed waveguide gratings based on Sagnac loop reflectors with custom spectral response.

Area of Science:

• Photonics and Optical Engineering
• Integrated Optics
• Waveguide Devices

Background:

• Arrayed Waveguide Gratings (AWGs) are key components in optical communication systems.
• Traditional AWGs have fixed spectral responses, limiting their application flexibility.
• Reflective AWGs offer potential for reconfigurability but require advanced design.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a model for the analysis and design of a novel reflective Arrayed Waveguide Grating (AWG).
• To achieve enhanced functionality by tailoring the spectral response of the AWG.
• To demonstrate Gaussian pass-band shapes and explore flattened/arbitrary responses.

Main Methods:

• Development of a model for a reflective AWG utilizing phase shifters and Sagnac loop reflectors.
• Individual adjustment of phase shifters and Sagnac reflectivity in each arm waveguide.
• Design and experimental demonstration using Silicon-on-Insulator (SOI) technology.

Main Results:

• Successful design and experimental demonstration of Gaussian pass-band shapes.
• Methods for achieving flattened and arbitrary spectral responses are described and simulated.
• The proposed reflective AWG offers enhanced spectral tailoring capabilities.

Conclusions:

• The presented reflective AWG model enables advanced control over spectral characteristics.
• This technology is suitable for Silicon-on-Insulator platforms.
• The design offers a pathway to reconfigurable optical filters with tailored spectral responses.