Polarization-beam-splitter-less integrated dual-polarization coherent receiver

Conventional dual-polarization coherent receivers require polarization beam splitters for either the signal or the local oscillator path. This severely hinders monolithic integration, since integrated polarization splitting devices often exhibit stringent fabrication tolerances. Here we propose a dual-polarization monolithically integrated coherent receiver architecture that completely avoids the use of polarization splitting elements. Polarization management is instead achieved by adequately engineering the birefringence of the interconnecting waveguides. The resultant receiver is highly tolerant to fabrication deviations and thus offers a completely new route for monolithic integration of dual-polarization receivers without any type of active tuning.