Slot Optical Waveguide Usage in Forming Passive Optical Devices

Abstract

We have reviewed the work on SOI slot optical waveguides followed by our work. In a slot waveguide structure, light can be confined in a low index slot guarded by high index slabs. Slot structures are being used in forming complex structures; such as ring resonator circuits. The increased round trip in ring resonator circuits signifies the importance of dispersion calculations. We did analytical and numerical investigations of slot structures' dispersion characteristics. Our dispersion tuned slot structures can help in reducing the dispersion effects on optical signal, which will in turn improve the efficiency of light-on-chip circuits. Since the advent of slot optical waveguides, SOI based slot optical waveguides have been under consideration. It has been found that glass based slot optical waveguide structures with relatively low refractive index contrast ratio can also play an important role in forming complex nano-size optical devices. We made use of power confined inside low index slot regions for a double slot structure. Opto-mechanical sensors have been proposed based upon: (a) variation in power confined inside low index slot region due to the movement of central high index slab under the action of external force (temperature, pressure, humidity, etc). vide Chinese Patent No. ZL 200710176770.1, 2007 (b) variation in power confined inside low refractive index slot regions due to movement of both slots under the action of external force (temperature, pressure, humidity, etc).