Characterisation of low-loss waveguide bends with offset-optimisation for compact photonic integrated circuits

Abstract

Use of a semivectorial finite element-based beam propagation method is benchmarked with the results available by using alternative numerical methods to analyse compact optical bends in photonic integrated circuits. It is also shown that the incorporation of the perfectly matched layers boundary condition is a superior approach for the treatment of high radiation loss from compact bends to the more common use of the absorbing boundary conditions. The least squares boundary residual method is employed to calculate the lateral offset necessary to maximise the transmission and simultaneously to minimise the reflection coefficients at the straight-to-bend waveguide interfaces. Using these efficient numerical techniques, the radiation loss, transition loss and the required waveguide offset to maximise the transmission and reduce the reflection are calculated.