Abstract
We report the fabrication of broadband directional couplers by direct UV-writing. The fabrication process is shown to be beneficial, robust and flexible. The components are compact and show superior performance in terms of loss and broadband operation.
Highlights
The capability of transferring power between waveguides is a key function for many applications of integrated optics
We report the fabrication of broadband directional couplers by direct UV−writing
In this paper we report on broadband couplers fabricated by the direct UV writing technique [8], where waveguides are written directly into the photosensitive core of a planar, silica-based sample
Summary
The capability of transferring power between waveguides is a key function for many applications of integrated optics. The standard directional coupler is made of two identical waveguides that are coupled through the evanescent field, and its qualitative behavior is well described by coupled−mode theory [1] Such a component exhibits considerable wavelength dependency which often limits the operational bandwidth to a few tens of nanometers, making it unsuitable for applications such as passive optical networking [2] where broadband performance is required. Direct UV writing is well suited for low cost fabrication of broadband couplers because: 1) there is no need for photolithography and etching, 2) there is a unique capability to vary both waveguide index step and width by adjusting the applied scan velocity, 3) there are no overcladding step-coverage problems where voids are formed in the region between closely spaced cores [9,10] and 4) development of couplers with custom characteristics (coupling ratio, wavelength range, input/output spacing) is inexpensive and relatively fast. This combined performance exceeds what has previously been reported in the literature
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