Silicon hybrid (de)multiplexer enabling simultaneous mode and wavelength-division multiplexing

Area of Science:

• Photonics
• Optical Communications
• Integrated Optics

Background:

• Mode and Wavelength Division Multiplexing (MWDM) is crucial for increasing optical fiber communication capacity.
• Existing MWDM devices often face challenges with size, insertion loss, and crosstalk.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and simulate a novel on-chip MWDM device.
• To achieve simultaneous multiplexing of optical modes and wavelength channels.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a tapered directional coupler and multimode interference (MMI) waveguide.
• Performed simulations on two distinct MWDM architectures.
• Investigated the multiplexing of two waveguide eigenmodes and two wavelength channels (1310/1550nm).

Main Results:

• Demonstrated a compact device with dimensions of 6μm x 100μm.
• Achieved a low insertion loss of 1.2dB.
• Reported a crosstalk level of -18dB.

Conclusions:

• The proposed device offers an efficient solution for on-chip MWDM.
• The design shows promise for compact and high-performance optical communication systems.