Abstract
An integrated photonic platform with "anchored-membrane" structures, the T-Guide, is proposed, numerically investigated, fabricated and characterized. These compact air-clad structures have high index contrast and are much more stable than prior membrane-type structures. Their semi-infinite geometry enables single-mode and single-polarization (SMSP) operation over unprecedented bandwidths. Modal simulations quantify this behavior, showing that an SMSP window of 2.75 octaves (1.2-8.1 μm) is feasible for silicon T-Guides, spanning almost the entire transparency range of silicon. Dispersion engineering for T-Guides yields broad regions of anomalous group velocity dispersion, rendering them a promising platform for nonlinear applications such as wideband frequency conversion. Cut-back measurements of fabricated silicon T-guides at λ = 3.64 μm show low propagation losses of 1.75 ± 0.3 dB/cm.
Highlights
Modern integrated photonic platforms ought to achieve high optical confinement, low core and cladding material loss over a wide spectral range and polarization-state management
One approach is to realize “single-mode single-polarization” (SMSP) waveguides, which deliberately restrict propagation to one mode of one polarization to improve the sensitivity in photonic devices [1]
We show extremely broad SMSP windows and ideal dispersion profiles can be achieved with a novel structure we call the T-Guide
Summary
Modern integrated photonic platforms ought to achieve high optical confinement, low core and cladding material loss over a wide spectral range and polarization-state management. The trade-off to such a design is that only small index contrasts are achieved, resulting in large modes and poor confinement This approach is not suitable for dense photonic integration or nonlinear applications requiring a small mode area. Since no cladding materials are needed, the transparency window is limited only by the core material chosen, making the structure ideal for tougher wavelengths such as the mid-IR [16] This feature complements the T-Guides’ ultra-broadband SMSP window and is a clear advantage over prior mid-IR Si platforms, such as silicon-on-sapphire [17] and silicon-on-nitride [18]. The fundamental waveguiding behavior, SMSP operation, and dispersion engineering of silicon T-Guides are considered
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