MEMS-tunable polarization management in photonic integrated circuits.

Area of Science:

• Photonics
• Integrated Optics
• Micro-electro-mechanical Systems (MEMS)

Background:

• Optical fibers are polarization-insensitive, but photonic integrated circuits (PICs) often show significant polarization dependence.
• The increasing maturity of PICs necessitates on-chip polarization management solutions.
• Micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) are used in PICs for switching and phase shifting but not widely for polarization control.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and simulate two novel optical MEMS architectures for tunable polarization management on-chip.
• To enable key polarization functions like splitting and rotation within PICs.
• To address the limitations of current PICs regarding polarization control.

Main Methods:

• Design of a directional coupler with a MEMS-tunable gap for variable polarization splitting.
• Development of a MEMS perturber over an air-cladded waveguide for tunable polarization rotation.
• Electromagnetic simulations to evaluate performance metrics.

Main Results:

• Simulated polarization extinction exceeding 25 dB for both proposed architectures.
• Demonstrated a wide operating bandwidth of up to 100 nm.
• Validation of MEMS as a viable technology for advanced PIC polarization control.

Conclusions:

• The proposed optical MEMS architectures offer effective solutions for tunable polarization splitting and rotation in PICs.
• These MEMS-based devices can achieve high polarization extinction ratios and broad operational bandwidths.
• Further investigation into actuation schemes and fabrication is recommended for foundry implementation.