Comparative study on compact planar waveguide based photonic integrated couplers using simple effective index method

Abstract

The miniaturization of photonic components in integrated optic waveguide devices to microscale platform has attracted enormous attention from the researchers and entrepreneurs. In this paper, we present and report a comparative study of photonic integrated planar waveguide based couplers using a mathematical model based on sinusoidal mode simple effective index method (SEIM). The basic photonic integrated components such as directional coupler (DC), two mode interference (TMI) coupler and multimode interference (MMI) coupler have been designed and fabricated using the versatile SiON waveguide technology (SiON as the waveguide core material using silica waveguide). The experimental results have been compared with the SEIM based theoretical results and further verified with the commercially available software tool based on beam propagation method (BPM). With a focus towards device compactness, particular emphasis is placed on device geometry in an endeavour to achieve the same. In this direction, the theoretical and experimental results obtained have been compared with tooth shaped grating assisted geometry for these photonic components. It is found that the grating assisted structures have the beat length ~0.5 times lower than that of the conventional geometry. Further it is seen that the beat length of TMI coupler is smaller compared to the DC and MMI coupler.