Abstract

The polarization of light conveys unique information that can be exploited by crucial applications. The bulky and costly discrete optical components used in conventional polarimeters limit their broad adoption. A compact, low-cost polarimeter would bring this functionality into a myriad of new scenarios and revolutionize its exploitation. Here we present a high-performance, full-Stokes polarimeter on a silicon chip. A surface polarization splitter and on-chip optical interferometer circuit produce the complete analysis matrix of an optimally conditioned polarimeter. A matrix analysis on measurement errors is also performed. This solid-state polarimeter is a system-on-a-chip with exceptional compactness, stability, and speed that could be used singly or in integrated arrays. Large arrays can increase the speed and resolution of full-Stokes imaging; therefore, our design provides a scalable polarimeter solution.

Highlights

  • Characterization of the state of polarization (SoP) of light is crucial for many important applications

  • The experimental and simulation results are shown in Fig. 8 when inputting x-polarized light. ηx and ηy are the efficiency of light coupled into x-directional and y-directional waveguides, respectively

  • The demonstration of a silicon full-Stokes polarimeter paves the way to polarimetry sensor systems on a chip for a vast number of applications

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Summary

Introduction

Characterization of the state of polarization (SoP) of light is crucial for many important applications. Et al, used the spin-orbit interaction of light to demonstrate the use of sub-wavelength scattering on silicon for local observation of SoP [7] They used the careful manipulation of a metallic nanoparticle or supplemental polarization filtering for their SoP characterization, the accuracy of their polarimeter has yet to be established with either method. A silicon photonic Stokes vector receiver has been demonstrated for high-speed optical communications [16] It uses a nanotaper on the edge of a chip to collect light from a fiber; on-chip components such as beam splitters, polarization rotators, and optical hybrids are used for polarization decomposition and phase readouts. The proposed chip-scale polarimeter is based on the standard 220-nm-thick silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer with a 2 μm buried oxide layer and 2-μm oxide cladding

Structure and principle
Design of SPS
Full-etch SPS
Results and discussion
Conclusion
Full Text
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