Propagation characteristics of a novel complementary-structure planar segmented waveguide

Abstract

A new waveguide structure with periodically segmented cover and substrate regions and a uniform film region is proposed. This complementary segmented waveguide is analysed in terms of the effective index and the spot size of the guided mode, by expressing the propagating field as a linear combination of the local normal modes of the corresponding uniform slab waveguides in different propagation regions. The results match very well with those obtained using the equivalent waveguide model. The propagation loss of the mode of the proposed structure is calculated using a coupled mode approach, and the results are similar to those of a normal segmented waveguide. This waveguide structure should prove useful in the realization of novel segmented waveguide devices.