Cylindrical Talbot effect for ultra-compact multimode interference couplers

Area of Science:

• Integrated photonics
• Wave optics

Background:

• Tapered multimode interference (MMI) couplers are crucial for integrated photonic circuits.
• Their operational efficiency is linked to the Talbot effect.
• Conventional MMI designs often have large footprints.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the Talbot effect in cylindrical coordinates.
• To investigate the potential for creating more compact MMI devices.
• To confirm the accuracy of theoretical predictions with simulations.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of the Talbot effect using cylindrical coordinates.
• Theoretical modeling of light propagation in a cylindrical geometry.
• Numerical simulations to validate theoretical predictions.

Main Results:

• Cylindrical geometry significantly reduces the Talbot distance.
• This reduction enables the design of more compact MMI couplers.
• Simulation results align with theoretical predictions, confirming the method's accuracy.

Conclusions:

• Employing cylindrical coordinates offers a pathway to miniaturized MMI devices.
• The findings support the development of smaller and more efficient integrated photonic circuits.
• The study validates a new theoretical framework for MMI design.