Abstract
A compact integrated optic polarization splitter is highly anticipated for polarization multiplexed optical communications, dual polarization optical sensors, single photon quantum signal processing, etc. In this work, we propose and demonstrate a polarization mode extracting device using a highly birefringent crosslinked liquid crystal polymer, reactive mesogen. The device includes the birefringent material inserted into a Y-branch optical waveguide to extract the TE polarized mode. A polarization splitting ratio of 27 dB was obtained, and a crosstalk of less than −25 dB was maintained for a wavelength range of 1500~1600 nm. The device exhibited good thermal stability at 100 °C for 12 hours. The broadband operating characteristic is a unique advantage of the proposed mode extracting polarization splitter.
Highlights
The polarization splitter is an indispensable optical device for polarization multiplexed optical communication[1, 2], dual polarization optical sensor[3, 4], and single photon quantum signal processing[5], etc
Polymer optical waveguide polarization splitter has been demonstrated using a variety of birefringent materials such as poled polymers[22, 23], perfluorinated birefringent polymers[24, 25] and reactive mesogenic liquid crystal materials[26]
We propose a compact polarization mode extracting device utilizing highly birefringent polymer
Summary
The polarization splitter is an indispensable optical device for polarization multiplexed optical communication[1, 2], dual polarization optical sensor[3, 4], and single photon quantum signal processing[5], etc. Polarization splitters have been demonstrated based on various optical materials such as silicon, silica, and polymers. In a silica polarization splitter, the amorphous silicon film was deposited on one arm of the Mach–Zehnder interferometer and stressed the waveguide to impart polarization-dependent phase delay through the stress-optical effect[17, 18]. Polymer has the advantage in controlling the birefringence of the optical waveguide due to the variety of molecular structures[21]. We propose a compact polarization mode extracting device utilizing highly birefringent polymer. It has a tiny mode converter with a taper that is effective only for TE polarized light, and the TE polarized www.nature.com/scientificreports/
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