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Non-Volatile Programmable Ultra-Small Photonic Arbitrary Power Splitters
Huan Yuan1,2, Jiagui Wu3, Jinping Zhang1,2
1Center of Material Science, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073, China.
Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland)
|February 26, 2022
Summary
Researchers developed compact, reconfigurable photonic power splitters using silicon and a novel phase change material (GSST). These devices offer digital control and a small footprint, enabling advanced optoelectronic fusion chips.
Area of Science:
- Photonics and Materials Science
- Optoelectronics
- Integrated Optics
Background:
- Optical phase change materials (O-PCMs) offer unique properties for photonic devices.
- Achieving compact and reconfigurable photonic integrated circuits (PICs) is crucial for advanced applications.
- Non-volatile optical switching with low absorption is highly desirable.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose and analyze reconfigurable compact photonic arbitrary power splitters.
- To leverage the properties of germanium-antimony-selenium-tellurium (GSST) as an O-PCM.
- To demonstrate digital reconfigurability and a small footprint for photonic integrated circuits.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing a hybrid silicon and GSST meta-hybrid structure.
- Employing digital reconfiguration through amorphous and crystalline switching of GSST.
- Analyzing device performance using three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain (3D-FDTD) simulations.
- Investigating 1x2, 1x3, and 1x4 splitting configurations in the C-band (1530-1560 nm).
Main Results:
- Achieved arbitrarily reconfigurable power-split ratios with high precision.
- Demonstrated extremely small PIC footprints comparable to advanced electronic integrated circuits (EICs).
- GSST material coated less than one-fifth of the pattern area, enabling efficient design.
- Provided true value tables for GSST distribution for various splitting configurations.
Conclusions:
- The proposed non-volatile hybrid photonic splitters offer significant advantages in terms of footprint and digital programmability.
- These devices are highly favorable for the development of truly optoelectronic fusion chips.
- The digital, non-volatile nature of GSST switching enables versatile photonic circuit designs.
