Optimization for Arrayed Waveguide Grating having MMI Coupler for Flattened Transfer Function

Abstract

This paper describes an efficient optimal design method for an arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) having MMI coupler with flattened transfer function. The objective function is the norm of the difference between calculated and target spectra. To analyze the AWG transfer function, the Fresnel-Kirchhof diffraction formula was employed and the design variable was optical path difference of each array waveguide. The (1+1) Evolution Strategy was applied to an eight-channel coarse wavelength division multiplexing (CWDM) AWG as the optimization tool. For obtaining a broadened spectrum, we use a MMI coupler and the variation in optical path difference at each array waveguide changes the shape of the transfer function to obtain the optimal spectrum shape.