Composite Waveguide Research Articles

Strong dipole-dipole interactions via enhanced light-matter coupling in composite nanofiber waveguides

We study the interaction of emitters with a composite waveguide formed from two parallel optical nanofibers in regimes of experimental importance for atomic gases or solid-state emitters. Using the exact dyadic Green's function we comprehensively investigate the coupling efficiency and the fiber-induced Lamb shift accounting for variations in emitter positions and fiber configurations. This reveals coupling efficiencies and Purcell factors that are enhanced considerably beyond those using a single fiber waveguide, and robustness in the figures of merit. We finally investigate resonant dipole-dipole interactions and the generation of entanglement between two emitters mediated through the composite waveguide under excitation. We show that the concurrence can be enhanced for two fiber systems, such that entanglement may be present even in cases where it is zero for a single fiber. All-fiber systems are simple in construction and benefit from a wealth of existing telecommunications technologies, while enjoying strong couplings to emitters and offering interesting light-matter functionalities specific to slot waveguides. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Ultra-compact and polarization-insensitive silicon waveguide 3 × 3 star-crossing based on composite subwavelength grating metamaterials.

We present what we believe is the first report on a polarization-insensitive 3 × 3 silicon star-crossing utilizing a composite subwavelength metamaterial waveguide structure. Two different types of subwavelength grating metamaterials (nanohole grating and fan-shaped bent subwavelength grating) are respectively used to address diffraction issues in the crossing region and mode interference issues caused by a compact non-adiabatic design. This approach results in a device with an ultra-compact footprint of 12.68 × 10.98 µm2 on a standard 220 nm silicon-on-insulator (SOI) platform. Simulation results show low insertion loss (IL) values of <0.2 dB/0.3 dB and suppressed cross talk (CT) levels of <-27.2 dB/-23.6 dB for TE/TM polarizations across a wavelength range of 100 nm (1500-1600 nm). Experimental measurements of the fabricated devices confirm outstanding performance, with IL values of <0.35 dB/0.4 dB and CT levels of <-31.5 dB/-28.6 dB for TE/TM polarization in the C-band.

Fast fabrication, gas sense characteristics and kinetics of cubic Ti-BIPA-TC-MOF film composite optical waveguides

A cubic Ti-metal-organic framework (MOF) ([Ti2–(TpA)2–H2BIPA]), constructed from a titanium metal centre and a benzo-imidephenanthroline tetracarboxylic acid (H4BIPA–TC) ligand was photo-inductively grown on the surface of a titanium dioxide (TiO2) composite optical waveguide (COWG) substrate and the influence of photo-inductive growth period on the [Ti2–(TpA)2–H2BIPA] film surface morphology, optical properties and gas adsorption/sensing characteristics was investigated. The results showed that [Ti2–(TpA)2–H2BIPA] formed a cubic structure after grew for only 5 min. As an ideal gas adsorbent, it exhibits a specific response to ethylenediamine (EDA) among various benzene, amine and acid gases, due to the intrinsic electron deficiency, rich COOH active sites of the Ti–BIPA–TC–MOF–5 frame and the higher molar refractive indexes or dipoles of EDA than other gases. In the EDA concentration range from 10 ppt to 100 ppm, the Ti–BIPA–TC–MOF–5 film COWG exhibited a rapid, repeatable response. Moreover, the Ti–BIPA–TC–MOF–5 film COWG was relatively stable, within 17 d of EDA detection, the response intensity was almost constant and slightly decreased within 40 d. In a static gas adsorption stage at 283–313 K, the EDA gas adsorption behaviour of the Ti–BIPA–TC–MOF–5 film is consistent with the pseudo-second-order kinetic model.

Design and Simulation of High-Efficiency Broadband Terahertz Graphene Composite Waveguide Modulators

Design and Simulation of High-Efficiency Broadband Terahertz Graphene Composite Waveguide Modulators

Miniaturized leaky-wave antenna with backward-to-forward beam scanning and suppressed open stop-band based on substrate-integrated plasmonic waveguide

This work presents a theoretical design and experimental demonstration of a novel miniaturized leaky-wave antenna (LWA) using composite waveguide based on substrate-integrated plasmonic waveguide (SIPW). The SIPW is designed by embedding hybrid dual spoof surface plasmon polariton (SSPP) structure into a three-layer substrate integrated waveguide (SIW). Due to the slow-wave effect of SIPW, the proposed miniaturized composite waveguide forms slowed phase velocity and decreased lower cutoff frequency. To excite backward-to-forward beam scanning mode and suppress the open stop-band, an asymmetric sinusoidal modulated structure is introduced to the surface of the composite waveguide. The experimental results indicate that the proposed SIPW-based LWA can achieve continuous beam scanning from the backward to the forward direction within the bandwidth of 10.6-13.7 GHz, passing through the broadside at 11.6 GHz.

Enhanced properties of the mid-infrared superluminescent emitter with a composite waveguide

This study reports on a composite structure composing tilted taper, and tilted and curved waveguides with the aim of enhancing the spectral width and output power of mid-infrared quantum cascade superluminescent emitters (QC-SLEs). The computational results indicate that a tilt angle of 10° and a curved angle of 20° can avoid the selectivity of a certain wavelength due to interference effects at tilt angles of 6° and 8°, resulting in the minimum reflectivity of 1.3×10−4 and 4.4×10−4 for each wide and narrow cavity surface. Simultaneously, the modes propagating perpendicular to the cavity surface exist the least. The corresponding experimental results show a significant enhancement in the spectral width to 168.5cm−1 and a high power output of 5.1 mW for the device. This study presents what we believe to be a novel concept for the designing of superluminescent emitters with both a broadband and high power output.

Sol-gel derived SiOx:TiOy films for integrated optics: HR S/TEM and AES/XPS insight to structure and chemical composition

Comprehensive studies on SiOx:TiOy composite waveguide layers with a high refractive index (n = 1.8), synthesized through sol–gel and dip-coating techniques are presented. The layers' structural and microchemical properties are determined using methods with different spatial resolutions (nm/μm/mm) and information depths (surface/bulk): optical transmittance, ellipsometry, transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, Auger electron spectroscopy combined with ion profiling, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. In the SiOx:TiOy films, 5 nm). Different Si- and Ti-rich phase formation mechanisms linked to alkoxide oxidation rates are found. The film composition (x = 1.1, y = 2.1) and homogenous in-depth O, Ti, and Si concentration profiles were determined. The Si/(Ti + Si) = 0.5 matching the synthesis procedure, oxygen deficiency (O/(Ti + Si) = 1.66), and oxygen vacancies in the silica phase are observed, with AES/XPS chemical shifts providing insights into bonding configurations. The SiOx:TiOy structural/chemical properties correlate well with exceptional optical film features.

Integrated Broadband Filter with Sharp Transition Edges Based on SiN and SiON Composite Waveguide Coupler

Broadband filters with sharp transition edges are important elements in diverse applications, including Raman and fluorescence spectral analysis, wideband wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM), and multi-octave interferometry. While the multi-layer thin-film interference broadband filter has been widely applied in various free-space optical systems, its integrated counterpart is still far from mature, which is also highly desired for constructing chip-scale miniature optical modules. In this article, we design, fabricate, and characterize an integrated broadband filter with sharp transition edges. An adiabatic coupler based on silicon nitride (SiN) and silicon oxynitride (SiON) composite waveguide is employed here. Long-pass, short-pass, band-pass, and band-stop filters can be realized in a single design of the composite waveguide coupler for a specific wavelength range, with only a difference in the SiN taper waveguide width. Experimental results with a roll-off value of larger than 0.7 dB nm−1 and a 15 dB extinction ratio (ER) are presented.

A novel TiO2-modified THPP-BCP composite optical waveguide sensor for the determination of ethylenediamine at ppb level.

Composite thin films OWG sensors show higher sensitivity than single film-based OWG sensors, making them particularly useful in the detection of trace gases. In this work, we developed a new tetra hydroxyphenyl porphyrin (THPP)-bromocresol purple (BCP)/TiO2 gel composite film-based OWG (THPP-BCP/TiO2-OWG) sensor for identifying ethylenediamine (EDA) gas. The fabricated sensor was characterized using ultraviolet and infrared spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. The test result shows that the response of the THPP-BCP/TiO2-OWG composite film sensor to analytes was 3-4 times higher than that of the single film THPP-OWG sensor. The THPP-BCP/TiO2-OWG sensor exhibited excellent selectivity and remarkable response to EDA gas at a concentration of < 1ppb at room temperature, with fast response (1s) and recovery (3s) times. The high refractive index TiO2 film contributes to OWG's sensitivity, while the THPP and BCP's sensitivity to bases further increased the sensor's response to EDA gas. The combination of THPP-BCP thin film and TiO2 gel film provides a powerful platform for OWG sensors that are highly sensitive, specific, and stable in the detection of trace gases.

Intrinsic polarity inversion in III-nitride waveguides for efficient nonlinear interactions.

III-nitrides provide a versatile platform for nonlinear photonics. In this work, we explore a new promising configuration - composite waveguides containing GaN and AlN layers with inverted polarity, i.e., having opposite signs of the χ(2) nonlinear coefficient. This configuration allows us to address the limiting problem of the mode overlap for nonlinear interactions. Our modelling predicts a significant improvement in the conversion efficiency. We confirm our theoretical prediction with the experimental demonstration of second harmonic generation with an efficiency of 4%W-1cm-2 using a simple ridge waveguide. This efficiency is an order of magnitude higher compared to the previously reported results for III-nitride waveguides. Further improvement, reaching a theoretical efficiency of 30%W-1cm-2, can be achieved by reducing propagation losses.

Signal Wrap-Around Free Spectral Element Formulation For Multiply Connected Finite 1-D Waveguides

This paper presents a novel spectral element formulation based on Numerical Laplace Transforms for the wave propagation of multiply connected finite 1-D waveguides, based on the first order shear deformation theory. The present formulation overcomes the severe short-comings of Fourier transform based spectral element formulation which has serious problems associated with the signal wrap-around while analysing finite domain structures. The real part of the Laplace variable which provides damping to the wavenumber solution, is characterized by Wilcox and Wedepohl approaches. The effect of this damping alters the wave dispersion and introduces certain interesting phenomenon that is not seen in the undamped waveguides. Problems involving wave propagation analysis are solved on finite multiply connected waveguides of varied complexity to demonstrate the efficiency of the formulated element. In most of the examples, the presence of signal wrap-around in Fourier domain based spectral element is brought out. With this approach, any large structural network, consisting of 2-D either metallic or composite finite length waveguides, under high frequency impact loading can be analyzed with very low computational cost.

Models of waveguides combining gradient and nonlinear optical layers

Objectives. Theoretical studies of the waveguide properties of interfaces between nonlinear optical and graded-index media are important for application in optoelectronics. Waveguides combining layers with different optical properties seem to be the most promising, since they can be matched to optimal characteristics using a wide range of control parameters. The paper aims to develop a theory of composite optically nonlinear gradedindex waveguides with an arbitrary profile, within which it is possible to obtain exact analytical expressions for surface waves and waveguide modes in an explicit form. The main feature of the theory proposed in this paper is its applicability for describing surface waves and waveguide modes, in which the field is concentrated inside the gradient layer and does not exceed its boundary, avoiding contact with the nonlinear layer.Methods. Analytical methods of the theory of optical waveguides and nonlinear optics are used.Results. A theoretical description of the waveguide properties of the interface between two media having significantly different optical characteristics is carried out. The formulated model of a plane waveguide is applicable to media having an arbitrary spatial permittivity profile. An analytical expression describing a surface wave propagating along the interface between a medium having stepwise nonlinearity and a gradient layer with an arbitrary permittivity profile is obtained. Additionally, analytical expressions for surface waves propagating along the interface between a medium with Kerr nonlinearity (both self-focusing and defocusing), as well as graded-index media characterized by exponential and linear permittivity profiles, are obtained.Conclusions. The proposed theory supports a visual description in an explicit analytical form of a narrowly localized light beam within such waveguides. It is shown that by combining different semiconductor crystals in a composite waveguide, it is possible to obtain a nonlinear optical layer on one side of the waveguide interface and a layer with a graded-index dielectric permittivity profile on the other.

METHODS OF CONTROLLING BOUNDARY TRANSPARENCY IN NON-HOMOGENOUS ELASTIC WAVEGUIDES

The work is devoted to the development of methods for controlling the efficiency of energy transfer in a composite elastic waveguide. Based on the analysis of the scattered field at the boundary of the stepped waveguide, formed by the rigid contact of two half-layers with the same mechanical characteristics, but with the different thicknesses, the main factors that affect the transparency of the interface were established. Harmonic oscillations generated by the first normal wave propagating from infinity in the narrower half-layer were considered. Mathematical difficulties of the posed boundary problem are due to the presence of a local singularity in the stresses at the point of change of the boundary conditions at the boundary of the two hemispheres. The solution is built by the superposition method, which allows taking into account the local singularity due to the asymptotic features of the unknowns. The quality criterion of the obtained solution was the control of the accuracy of the fulfillment of the conjugation conditions at the boundary of the two half-layers. The main attention in the work is focused on establishing the conditions for changing the transparency of the boundary depending on the frequencies, the symmetry of the oscillations, and the ratio of the half-layer widths. It was shown in the work that for both symmetric and antisymmetric oscillations of a stepped waveguide, there are frequency ranges in which the transparency of the boundary changes significantly. For both types of symmetry, in the frequency range up to the critical frequency for the third propagating normal wave, there are two frequency ranges in which the transparency of the boundary increases rather sharply. The frequencies at which local energy maxima are observed in the reflected field are different for symmetric and anti-symmetric oscillations. For symmetric oscillations, the first energy maximum in the reflected field is observed at the frequency when only one wave can propagate in both half-layers. This effect is due to the increase in the role of inhomogeneous waves in the transmitted field. The second energy maximum in the reflected field is due to the transformation of the energy of the incident wave into propagating waves of higher orders. In the case of antisymmetric oscillations, both maxima are due to the energy features of propagating waves of higher orders. The quality of energy resonance in the reflected field depends significantly on the symmetry of the oscillations. The established features of the scattered field make it possible to develop recommendations for controlling the transparency of the boundary in a stepped waveguide.

Single- and two-photon absorption induced all-optical control of gallium selenide integrated silicon nitride photonic devices in the 700–800 nm wavelength range

In this work, we report single- and two-photon absorption (TPA) induced transmission and resonance modulation in a multilayer gallium selenide (GaSe) integrated silicon nitride (Si3N4) waveguide and ring resonator operating in the 700–800 nm wavelength range. Intensity dependent saturable absorption at low optical powers followed by TPA at higher power levels in GaSe integrated Si3N4 waveguides is observed at 785 nm pulsed laser excitation. A TPA coefficient of 0.117 cm/GW for the GaSe–Si3N4 composite waveguide and a three-photon absorption coefficient of 7.876 × 10−6 cm3/GW2 for the bare Si3N4 waveguide are extracted from intensity dependent transmission measurements. The single-photon absorption process induced by a blue laser incident on the multilayer GaSe transferred on top of the Si3N4 ring resonator is used for all-optical resonance tuning through the free-carrier refraction effect. A strong blue shift of the resonance by ∼12.3 pm/mW combined with resonance broadening is observed due to the free-carrier induced refractive index and absorption modulation. The TPA in the GaSe integrated Si3N4 ring resonator is also shown to result in a blue shift of the resonances excited using a 785 nm pulsed laser. This work demonstrates the all-optical control of 2D material integrated Si3N4 guided-wave structures operating in the shorter near-infrared wavelength range with potential applications in integrated quantum photonics, miniaturized sensing devices, and biomedical imaging.

Design and simulation of refractive index sensor based on suspended composite hybrid plasmonic waveguide for sensing mass density of polarizable hydrogen gas

Design and simulation of refractive index sensor based on suspended composite hybrid plasmonic waveguide for sensing mass density of polarizable hydrogen gas

Composite optical waveguide sensor based on porphyrin@ZnO film for sulfide-gas detection

Composite optical waveguide sensor based on porphyrin@ZnO film for sulfide-gas detection

Two-dimensional material integrated micro-nano fiber, the new opportunity in all-optical signal processing

Abstract With the development of all-optical networks, all-optical devices have become a research hotspot in recent years. Two-dimensional materials, represented by graphene and black phosphorus, have attracted great interest in the scientific community due to their excellent optical, electrical, magnetic, and mechanical properties. Bridging the gap between fiber optics and nanotechnology, microfibers can interact with light and matter at the micro or even nanoscale. By combining two-dimensional materials with microfibers, composite waveguides can be formed. They have the advantages of high nonlinear effect, all-fiber structure, and high damage threshold, etc. The composite waveguide can be directly applied to optical fiber communication systems, and plays an important role in the field of all-optical signal processing with a huge application prospect. In this review, the properties of typical 2D materials are first introduced. Next, the preparation methods of the relevant equipments are introduced and compared. Then, the all-optical signal processing technology based on 2D material-integrated microfiber composite waveguide is reviewed. The latest developments of all-optical modulators, all-optical wavelength converters, all-optical logic gates and all-optical thresholding devices are presented. Finally, the challenges and opportunities for the future development of 2D materials-integrated microfiber optoelectronic devices are summarized.

Photon propagation control on laser-written photonic chips enabled by composite waveguides

Femtosecond laser direct writing (FsLDW) three-dimensional (3D) photonic integrated circuits (PICs) can realize arbitrary arrangement of waveguide arrays and coupling devices. Thus, they are capable of directly constructing arbitrary Hamiltonians and performing specific computing tasks crucial in quantum simulation and computation. However, the propagation constant β is limited to a narrow range in single-mode waveguides by solely changing the processing parameters, which greatly hinders the design of FsLDW PICs. This study proposes a composite waveguide (CWG) method to increase the range of β, where a new single-mode composite waveguide comprises two adjacent circular waveguides. As a result, the photon propagation can be controlled and the variation range of β can be efficiently enlarged by approximately two times (Δβ∼36 cm−1). With the CWG method, we successfully realize the most compact FsLDW directional couplers with a 9 μm pitch in a straight-line form and achieve the reconstruction of the Hamiltonian of a Hermitian array. Thus, the study represents a step further toward the fine control of the coupling between waveguides and compact integration of FsLDW PICs.

Development of composite optical waveguide based on azobenzene-modified titanium metal-organic framework film for study of gas adsorption kinetics.

This study investigates the fabrication and gas adsorption kinetics of an azobenzene (AZB)-modified titanium metal-organic framework (AZB@Ti-MOF) film composite optical waveguide (COWG) that recognizes ethylenediamine (EDA) gas. After modification with AZB, the surface of the Ti-MOF film became rough and evolved from a hemispherical structure to a petal-like structure; a large pore size and small specific surface area accompanied the evolution of the surface morphology. The AZB@Ti-MOF film COWG exhibited a positive response to EDA gas co-existing with the same concentration (1000 ppm) of benzenes, amines, and acidic gases. It is postulated that charge transfer occurs when the AZB@Ti-MOF film COWG adsorbs EDA gas, leading to significant strengthening of the intramolecular hydrogen bonds as EDA works as an electron donor. Incomplete or prolonged EDA desorption from the film surface at room temperature resulted in a decrease in the surface sensitivity of the COWG AZB@Ti-MOF film. The kinetics of EDA adsorption were examined using pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order (PSO) kinetic models. The EDA adsorption kinetics fit well with the PSO model. As measured at room temperature, the adsorption capacity (qe) per unit surface of the AZB@Ti-MOF films was 46.50 × 10-2 µg·cm-2.

Improved Global-Local Method for Ultrasonic Guided Wave Scattering Predictions in Composite Waveguides and Defects

Abstract As structures increase in complexity, in the use of high-performing materials and designs, their health assessment becomes increasingly challenging. Ultrasonic guided waves (UGWs) have shown to be very promising in the inspection of large (i.e. aerospace components) attenuating (i.e. composite materials) structures and have been successfully employed for damage detection in a variety of fields. The intrinsic complex nature of UGWs, due to their dispersive behavior, combined with the structural complexity of the applications, though, makes the interpretation of UGW inspections very challenging. Numerical simulations of UGW propagation become crucial to this end and have been addressed with fully numerical, semi-analytical and hybrid approaches. The capability of predicting UGW scattering can inform experimental testing in optimizing the sensitivity of UGW inspections to specific waveguides and defects, and in interpreting the acquired data for the non-destructive identification and quantification of damages. In this work, an improved computational tool for UGW scattering predictions is presented. The approach relies on the Global-Local method and leverages the efficiency of the semi-analytical finite element (SAFE) method and the parallelized implementation of the coupled solution. 2D applications of the Global-Local approach for UGW scattering predictions in composite structures over a wide range of frequencies will be presented, together with the demonstration of the improved computational performance. The computational efficiency promises feasible and reliable UGWs predictions in multi-layered complex assemblies and different damage scenarios, and enables virtual UGWs inspections and future integration in NDE testing.