Polarization splitter based on antiresonant reflecting optical waveguides

Abstract

We propose the first polarization splitter based on antiresonant optical waveguides (ARROW's). The three air core structure is built up of two moveable outer cladding layers and two fixed inner cladding layers. The moveability of both outer cladding layers makes micromechanical switching of the polarized light between two output channels possible. The polarization discrimination is realized through thin metal films deposited on the outermost surfaces of the outer cladding layers. The extinction ratios of channels 1 and 3 as a function of the thickness of all cladding layers are calculated. We found that for extinction ratios below -20 dB thickness fluctuations smaller than /spl plusmn/15 mm are allowed. >