Ultra-Broadband and Compact TM-Pass Polarizer Based on Graphene-Buried Polymer Waveguide

Area of Science:

• Photonics
• Materials Science
• Optical Engineering

Background:

• Polarizers are crucial optical components for controlling light polarization.
• Existing polarizers often face limitations in bandwidth, size, or cost.
• Graphene's unique optical properties offer potential for novel photonic devices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and fabricate an ultra-broadband and compact TM-pass polarizer.
• To leverage graphene-polymer waveguides for polarization control.
• To achieve high extinction ratios and low insertion loss.

Main Methods:

• Design and optimization of waveguide parameters for TM-pass functionality.
• Fabrication using standard microfabrication processes.
• Experimental characterization of polarization-dependent transmission, extinction ratio, and insertion loss.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated a TM-pass polarizer with ultra-broadband operation (>110 nm bandwidth).
• Achieved ultra-high extinction ratios: >22.9 dB (surface graphene) and >41.9 dB (buried graphene).
• Reported low insertion loss of ~4.0 dB for the TM mode.

Conclusions:

• Graphene-buried polymer waveguides enable high-performance TM-pass polarizers.
• The device offers advantages of high extinction ratio, ultra-broadband operation, and low cost.
• Potential for integration with other polymer-based planar lightwave circuits.