Wideband silicon photonic polarization beamsplitter based on point-symmetric cascaded broadband couplers.

We design and demonstrate a wideband silicon photonic polarization beamsplitter on a silicon-on-insulator platform. The device consists of two 3 dB broadband couplers cascaded in a point-symmetric network. The transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) modes are coupled to different output ports due to a large difference between their coupling strengths. The device exhibits large isolation at both the two output ports, of more than 20 dB over a large bandwidth of 125 nm, and a small excess loss, of less than 0.5 dB for the entire C-band.

[1]  Nicolas A. F. Jaeger,et al.  Apodized Focusing Fully Etched Subwavelength Grating Couplers , 2015, IEEE Photonics Journal.

[2]  M. Cherchi,et al.  Wavelength-flattened directional couplers for mirror-symmetric interferometers , 2005, Journal of Lightwave Technology.

[3]  Huaxiang Yi,et al.  High extinction ratio polarization beam splitter with multimode interference coupler on SOI , 2013 .

[4]  M. Watts,et al.  Integrated mode-evolution-based polarization splitter. , 2005, Optics letters.

[5]  B. Shen,et al.  An integrated-nanophotonics polarization beamsplitter with 2.4 × 2.4 μm2 footprint , 2015, Nature Photonics.

[6]  Daoxin Dai,et al.  Silicon Polarization Beam Splitter Based on an Asymmetrical Evanescent Coupling System With Three Optical Waveguides , 2012, Journal of Lightwave Technology.

[7]  Tsutomu Kitoh,et al.  Two-port optical wavelength circuits composed of cascaded Mach-Zehnder interferometers with point-symmetrical configurations , 1996 .

[8]  Xiaochuan Xu,et al.  Ultracompact and fabrication-tolerant integrated polarization splitter. , 2011, Optics letters.

[9]  Zhi Wang,et al.  Considerations for the Design of Asymmetrical Mach–Zehnder Interferometers Used as Polarization Beam Splitters on a Submicrometer Silicon-On-Insulator Platform , 2011, Journal of Lightwave Technology.

[10]  Sailing He,et al.  On‐chip silicon 8‐channel hybrid (de)multiplexer enabling simultaneous mode‐ and polarization‐division‐multiplexing , 2014 .

[11]  Jing Li,et al.  Electron beam lithography writing strategies for low loss, high confinement silicon optical waveguides , 2011 .

[12]  Jie Sun,et al.  Four-port integrated polarizing beam splitter. , 2014, Optics letters.

[13]  B. Little,et al.  Design rules for maximally flat wavelength-insensitive optical power dividers using Mach-Zehnder structures , 1997, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[14]  Hiroshi Fukuda,et al.  Ultrasmall polarization splitter based on silicon wire waveguides. , 2006, Optics express.

[15]  K. Jinguji,et al.  Synthesis of coherent two-port lattice-form optical delay-line circuit , 1995 .

[16]  K. Saitoh,et al.  Ultra-Broadband Silicon-Wire Polarization Beam Combiner/Splitter Based on a Wavelength Insensitive Coupler With a Point-Symmetrical Configuration , 2014, IEEE Photonics Journal.

[17]  Xingjun Wang,et al.  CMOS-compatible and fabrication-tolerant MMI-based polarization beam splitter , 2015 .

[18]  Di Liang,et al.  Realization of an ultra-short silicon polarization beam splitter with an asymmetrical bent directional coupler. , 2013, Optics letters.

[19]  Fan Zhang,et al.  Broadband silicon photonic directional coupler using asymmetric-waveguide based phase control. , 2015, Optics express.

[20]  H.K. Tsang,et al.  Integrated polarization beam splitter in high index contrast silicon-on-insulator waveguides , 2005, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[21]  Dong-xu Yang,et al.  A Bias-Free Quantum Random Number Generation Using Photon Arrival Time Selectively , 2015, IEEE Photonics Journal.

[22]  Henry I. Smith,et al.  Polarization-transparent microphotonic devices in the strong confinement limit , 2007 .

[23]  John E. Bowers,et al.  Compact Polarization Beam Splitter Using an Asymmetrical Mach–Zehnder Interferometer Based on Silicon-on-Insulator Waveguides , 2012, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.