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Fabrication Process of Silicone-based Dielectric Elastomer Actuators
Published on: February 1, 2016
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General silicon-on-insulator higher-order mode converter based on substrip dielectric waveguides
Applied Optics
|March 16, 2019
Summary
A novel silicon mode-converter waveguide directly converts fundamental modes to higher-order modes within a single waveguide, offering a compact solution. This innovative design minimizes footprint and improves performance for integrated photonic circuits.
Area of Science:
- Photonics and Waveguide Technology
- Integrated Optics
- Silicon Photonics
Background:
- Traditional mode converters often require coupling between separate waveguides, increasing device complexity and footprint.
- Achieving efficient and compact mode conversion is crucial for advanced optical signal processing and communication systems.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose and validate a novel, compact silicon mode-converter waveguide capable of converting fundamental modes to any higher-order mode directly within a single propagation path.
- To develop a mathematical model for designing the dielectric material and analyzing the performance of the proposed mode converter.
- To experimentally verify the performance of the designed mode converters.
Main Methods:
- Development of a mathematical model using the effective index method (EIM) and perturbative mode-coupled theory to determine design parameters and coupling coefficients.
- Validation of the mathematical model through full vectorial 3D-finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations.
- Fabrication and testing of two silicon mode converters designed to convert the fundamental TE0 mode to TE1 and TE2 modes.
Main Results:
- The proposed device offers a significantly smaller footprint compared to traditional mode converters.
- Mathematical models (EIM and mode-coupled theory) showed good agreement with accurate 3D-FDTD simulations for device characterization.
- Fabricated mode converters demonstrated good insertion losses and low crosstalk for TE0 to TE1 and TE0 to TE2 mode conversion, with results aligning well with simulations.
Conclusions:
- The proposed general silicon mode-converter waveguide is a compact and efficient solution for direct mode conversion.
- The developed mathematical model accurately predicts device performance, validated by FDTD simulations and experimental results.
- This technology holds promise for advancing integrated photonic circuits by enabling efficient higher-order mode manipulation.
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