Optical Beam Propagation and Ray Tracing Simulation of Interruption-Free Asymmetric Multimode Bus Couplers

Abstract

In this article, we present a coupling concept for an interruption-free asymmetric bidirectional optical bus coupler for board and module level. With this approach, it is possible to connect several electro-optical devices to a single waveguide. A core-to-core connection principle is used, where the cores get into physical contact at their side faces. The coupling ratio can be tuned by adjusting the overlap area of the two cores with different contact pressures. Because of a bending in one of the waveguides, it is possible to achieve a specific asymmetric coupler design, where the coupling ratio depends on the coupling direction (bent waveguide to rigid one or vice versa). To derive design rules for prototyping, a simulation is performed using two different independent approaches for cross-checking. With a ray tracing simulation, coupling ratios and energy distribution within the bent core are analyzed. In addition, a simulation with the beam propagation method is used to take wave optical effects into account as well as to establish a holistic view on the coupling concept.