Polarization Beam Splitter Research Articles

Polymer-based three-waveguide polarization beam splitter with reduced crosstalk for optical circuitry

Polarization beam splitters are pivotal in manipulating polarized light within photonic integrated circuits for various optical applications. This study introduces a single-mode polarization beam splitter comprising three waveguides realized with polymer materials. The device optimization process employed the beam propagation method, explicitly using the RSoft CAD BeamProp solver. Our proposed beam splitter performs exceptionally well with 99% complete and null light transmission efficiency. In particular, it demonstrates minimal insertion loss (0.04 dB for complete transmission and 0.07 dB for null transmission) and low coupling loss (0.03 dB and 0.04 dB for complete transmission, 21.9 dB and 36.3 dB for null transmission from input to bridge and bridge to output waveguides, respectively). Additionally, the beam splitter showcases significantly reduced crosstalk: −27dB and −26.98dB for TE modes during complete light transfer, and −36.28dB and −33.61dB for TM modes during null light transfer. These results underscore its potential for advancing integrated optical systems.

Topological protection of dual-polarization biphoton states in photonic crystals

Polarization control is a major issue in topological quantum optics that limits reliable generation and transmission of quantum states. This study presents what we believe to be a novel topological photonic crystal design that provides topological protection for biphoton pairs for both TE and TM polarization. By well-designed cell configurations within the lattice, two topological boundaries emerge that can accommodate TM and TE modes at the same time. By adjusting the dispersion curves, we can further design nonlinear four-wave mixing processes within the topological photonic crystals and provide theoretical explanations for the entanglement of the dual-polarization biphoton states. Numerical results confirm the robust transport of entangled photon pairs, even when subjected to sharp bending. Moreover, combining the dual-polarization topological photonic crystal with a polarization beam splitter enables the preparation of polarization-encoded maximally entangled states. Our work exhibits significant potential for applications in robust optical quantum information processing and quantum secure communication.

3D Printing of Glass Micro-Optics with Subwavelength Features on Optical Fiber Tips.

Integration of functional materials and structures on the tips of optical fibers has enabled various applications in micro-optics, such as sensing, imaging, and optical trapping. Direct laser writing is a 3D printing technology that holds promise for fabricating advanced micro-optical structures on fiber tips. To date, material selection has been limited to organic polymer-based photoresists because existing methods for 3D direct laser writing of inorganic materials involve high-temperature processing that is not compatible with optical fibers. However, organic polymers do not feature stability and transparency comparable to those of inorganic glasses. Herein, we demonstrate 3D direct laser writing of inorganic glass with a subwavelength resolution on optical fiber tips. We show two distinct printing modes that enable the printing of solid silica glass structures ("Uniform Mode") and self-organized subwavelength gratings ("Nanograting Mode"), respectively. We illustrate the utility of our approach by printing two functional devices: (1) a refractive index sensor that can measure the indices of binary mixtures of acetone and methanol at near-infrared wavelengths and (2) a compact polarization beam splitter for polarization control and beam steering in an all-in-fiber system. By combining the superior material properties of glass with the plug-and-play nature of optical fibers, this approach enables promising applications in fields such as fiber sensing, optical microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), and quantum photonics.

Optical Stern–Gerlach Effect in Periodically Poled Electro‐Optical Crystals

AbstractThe Stern–Gerlach (SG) effect provided the first direct experimental evidence of the quantization of electron spin. Although some analog SG effects have been proposed in optical systems, finding a perfect optical analog for the SG effect remains a challenge. Here, a novel optical SG effect is demonstrated in periodically poled electro‐optical crystals. Induced by an applied electric field, the principal axes of crystal rock periodically along the propagation direction of light. When the quasi‐phase‐matching condition is satisfied, the electro‐optical coupling process within the periodically poled crystal can be accurately described by the Schrödinger–Pauli equation for spin‐1/2 particles. The output photons can be deflected toward opposite directions according to their intrinsic spin angular momentum (circular polarizations), since the transversely varying duty cycle of crystal arises an effective magnetic‐field gradient. Moreover, the output photons can be separated according to two arbitrary orthogonal polarization states, allowing us to construct high‐speed electro‐optically tunable polarization beam splitters for arbitrary orthogonal polarization states. Therefore, the optical SG effect provides not only a perfect optical analog for the quantum SG effect but also a useful optical element for optics and quantum physics.

Chalcogenide TE-Pass Waveguide Polarizer and Polarization Beam Splitter Base on Asymmetric Directional Coupling

Chalcogenide TE-Pass Waveguide Polarizer and Polarization Beam Splitter Base on Asymmetric Directional Coupling

A hybrid MLP-CNN model based on positional encoding for daytime radiative cooler

Radiative cooling is a groundbreaking technology for sustainable temperature regulation to combat global warming and the urban heat island effect. Traditional optimization algorithms for cooling system structures are often brute-force and even limited to local optimal solutions. Here, we propose a joint simulation method based on a multilayer perceptron (MLP) and a convolutional neural network (CNN) with position encoding (PE), namely the hybrid MLP-CNN model with PE. This method can significantly reduce simulation time, avoid getting trapped in local optima, and accurately predict the optical response and radiative cooling power of the structure. Applying PE enables the MLP model to learn the relationship between structural parameters and optical response more quickly and effectively, reducing loss during training and more minor root mean square error (RMSE) and mean relative error (MRE) during testing. In addition, the residual network can reduce the problem of overfitting in the network. Compared to using only an MLP, the hybrid MLP-CNN with PE model can effectively reduce loss and achieve more accurate prediction outputs. The hybrid model is much faster than traditional electromagnetic simulations, taking only 1% of the time, and the model dramatically reduces the time needed to predict the optical response of structures and effectively decreases the cost of designing optical devices. Utilizing this hybrid model not only avoids the potential drawbacks of being limited to suboptimal solutions and significantly reduces the simulation time, but also effectively predicts the optical response of the device. This approach can demonstrate remarkable adaptability in optimizing geometric parameters of various optical apparatuses, including polarization converters, beam splitters, metalens, and other two-dimensional nanostructures.

High-reliability infrared broadband thin-film polarizing beam splitter with ZnSe compensation layers.

Thin-film polarizing beam splitters (PBSs) fulfill a pivotal role in laser beam splitting, modulation, shaping and isolation. In this study, a high-reliability infrared broadband thin-film PBS was developed. To correct for tensile stress in Ge/YbF3 multilayer coatings, ZnSe compensation layers were incorporated in the multilayer design. The effects of different symmetrical periods on the spectral properties of the infrared PBS were systematically discussed. The infrared PBS operated at 45° and in the long-wave infrared (LWIR) band. Using the percent of optical extrema monitoring (POEM) strategy combined with the high-temperature optical constants (HTOC) of Ge film, the infrared PBS was precisely fabricated on ZnSe substrates. Subsequently, the spectral performance and film reliability of the infrared PBS were carefully characterized. Specifically, the transmittance of p-polarization surpassed 96%, while the extinction ratio exceeded 100:1 within the 10.6 ± 0.15 µm band. The infrared PBS demonstrated commendable environmental reliability, in addition to exhibiting excellent spectral characteristics.

Multilevel asymmetric coupler MAC polarization beam splitter for Si photonics technology

In this work, we present a new design of an integrated optical polarization beam splitter using the Multilevel Asymmetric Coupler MAC structure. The proposed structure is using CMOS compatible Si/SiO2 technology. The structure is tested using the Finite Difference Time Domain FDTD technique and showed a very good performance. The compromise between the structure footprint on Si and its performance is also investigated. The structure can offer an Extinction Ratio ER greater than 40 dB with a length of 5 µm. It can also be designed with a smaller length of only 2 µm but in this case its ER will be only 20 dB. It has a bandwidth of about 60 nm in which the insertion loss is less than 0.003 dB for the TE wave and less than 0.2 dB for the TM wave.

Free-space combiner based on holographic mirrors for head-mounted displays.

The paper presents an augmented reality display based on the free-space combiner, consisting of two holographic mirrors: flat and spherical. A feature of such a system is a high-reflection coefficient of mirrors up to 90% for one wavelength and a high transmittance to the lumen up to 67% throughout the rest of the visible spectrum, unlike similar solutions implementing principles of polarization or dichroic beam splitting. The recording scheme and calculation of a separate flat holographic mirror and spherical holographic mirror are described. The proposed augmented reality display can provide multifocality, i.e.,reproduction of virtual images at several distances, which demonstrates a certain perspective of this implementation in terms of compensation for the vergence accommodation conflict.

Levitation of air-borne strong-absorbing nanoparticle clusters dominated by photophorestic force and migration behavior under thermophorestic force

In order to explore the levitation and migration behavior of strongly absorbing nanoparticle clusters in air by using laser technique, in this study trapping and levitating nanoparticle clusters is proposed based on the counter-propagated bi-Bessel beams, and then the clusters are released to observe and analyze their migration behaviors. Two Bessel beams are generated by a conical lens and polarizing beam splitter, arranged horizontally in reverse to form a three-dimensional optical trap. The stiffness of the optical trap can be controlled by adjusting the power ratio of the two Bessel beams. The particles in the levitation chamber are fluidized through weak airflow, and then captured and levitated by a light trap. A high-speed camera is used to record the levitation and migration process of clusters. The particle motion parameters can be obtained through image analysis. The strong-absorbing ultrafine coal particle clusters are first selected to conduct the experiments on their levitation and release migration. Then, the photophorestic force, gravity, buoyancy, drag force, and thermophorestic force acting on the clusters are calculated and analyzed. The experimental and computational results indicate that the photophorestic force of air-borne strong-absorbing nanoparticle clusters generated by laser illumination dominates the levitation; nanoparticle clusters can be stably levitated in a three-dimensional potential well formed by counter-propagated bi-Bessel beams, achieving dynamic equilibrium with gravity, buoyancy, drag, etc. by adjusting the levitation position. The relative instability parameter of levitation is used to evaluate the stability of air-borne strong-absorbing nanoparticle clusters, and the minimum relative instability of ultrafine coal particle clusters reaches 0.075. By analyzing the images of nanoparticle cluster recorded by high-speed camera after being released, the migration motion parameters of the cluster can be obtained, therefore the thermophorestic force acting on the cluster is accurately measured. For the ultrafine coal particle clusters with equivalent particle sizes in a range of approximately 13–21 μm, the magnitudes of their thermophorestic forces are in a range of 10<sup>–11</sup>–10<sup>–10</sup> N. As the cluster size increases, the thermophorestic force increases linearly, which is consistent with the theoretical calculation trend. The use of laser to levitate and release particles provides a novel approach for measuring and analyzing thermophorestic force, and also presents a novel manipulation tool for controlling and transporting particles in a gaseous medium.

Синтез поляризационных светоделителей для дальнего инфракрасного диапазона спектра

The technique and results of the synthesis of polarization beam splitters for the long-wavelength infrared region of the spectrum of 8–14 microns are presented. In this range, bodies with temperatures around zero degrees Celsius begin to emit. In addition, this radiation has a low attenuation in a relatively humid or aerosol-saturated atmosphere. Therefore, it is widely used in night vision devices, rangefinders and thermal imaging cameras, including mobile systems with a variable angle of the optical axis relative to the angle of arrival of the incident electromagnetic wave. In systems with active illumination, polarized radiation and beam splitters are used to reduce the effect of backscattering interference. A review of patents and literature showed the absence of finished products for the considered wavelength range. In this paper, original designs of polarization beam splitters are proposed and their spectral optical characteristics are obtained.

Design of Polarization Beam Splitter Based on Rectangular Core Photonic Crystal Fiber Without Holes in the Cladding

Design of Polarization Beam Splitter Based on Rectangular Core Photonic Crystal Fiber Without Holes in the Cladding

Fabrication and Test of Metasurface Silicon Polarization Beam Splitters

Fabrication and Test of Metasurface Silicon Polarization Beam Splitters

Mid-Infrared Circularly Polarized Beam Splitter Based on Metasurfaces

Mid-Infrared Circularly Polarized Beam Splitter Based on Metasurfaces

Compact polarization beam splitter based on metal-capped thin-film LiNbO3-on-insulator plasmonic waveguide

A compact polarization beam splitter based on a triple-waveguide plasmonic directional coupler is proposed and modeled. The directional coupler consists of two usual lithium-niobate-on-insulator (LNOI) ridge waveguides and a metal-capped plasmonic LNOI waveguide located between them. It utilizes stronger polarization dependence of modal birefringence of a plasmonic waveguide. By appropriately designing the plasmonic waveguide geometry, the TM component wave meets the resonant coupling condition and outputs at cross port. Instead, the TE component wave does not meet the resonant coupling condition, cannot be resonant in the triple-waveguide directional coupler and outputs at through port directly. Excellent performance is expected for an optimal device. First, the device shows an ultra-high polarization extinction ratio(PER) of 28.3 dB and an ultra-low insertion loss(IL) of 0.06 dB for the TE-polarized wave, and of 31.7 dB and of 0.31 dB in order for the TM-polarized wave. Second, the working bandwidth with PER > 25 dB and IL < 0.08 dB is 100 nm (1500–1600 nm) for the TE-polarized wave, and that with PER > 20 dB and IL < 0.4 dB is 30 nm (1534–1564 nm) for the TM-polarized wave. Third, the device has a compact structure of 33 μm in length and exhibits definite fabrication tolerance. Overall, the proposed device exhibits ultra-high PER and ultra-low IL, and has a compact size suitable for on-chip use. A comparison shows that present device exhibits advantage in IL and/or size over that based on other LNOI structures or the SOI platform.

Design and analysis of a compact and broadband polarization beam splitter on silicon nitride on silicon-on-insulator multilayer platform using a partially overlapped vertical asymmetrical directional coupler

Design and analysis of a compact and broadband polarization beam splitter on silicon nitride on silicon-on-insulator multilayer platform using a partially overlapped vertical asymmetrical directional coupler

Broadband free space 2 × 4 90° optical hybrid for satellite laser communication.

We design a broadband free space 2×4 90° optical hybrid over a spectral window of 1000-1200nm and 1470-1650nm and verify the feasibility of the scheme experimentally. The hybrid consists of three broadband polarization beam splitters, an achromatic λ/4 wave plate, and three achromatic λ/2 wave plates. The fabricated hybrid exhibits a good quadrature phase response with an interchannel imbalance of 0.93-1.07 and a low phase deviation of less than 0.2° under the typical communication wavelengths of 1064nm and C-band. The experimental results of the heterodyne method show that the proposed hybrid can effectively solve the wavelength incompatibility problem in satellite laser communication and realize interconnection at different wavelengths. The designed hybrid (without coupling) has a measured insertion loss of no more than 7.34dB at 1064nm and C-band. A high-speed transmission experiment with BPSK format has been conducted to verify the performance of the assembled device.

Diffractive order Mueller matrix ellipsometry for the design and manufacture of polarization beam splitting metasurfaces.

Optical metasurface technology promises an important potential for replacing bulky traditional optical components, in addition to enabling new compact and lightweight metasurface-based devices. Since even subtle imperfections in metasurface design or manufacture strongly affect their performance, there is an urgent need to develop proper and accurate protocols for their characterization, allowing for efficient control of the fabrication. We present non-destructive spectroscopic Mueller matrix ellipsometry in an uncommon off-specular configuration as a powerful tool for the characterization of orthogonal polarization beam-splitters based on a-Si:H nanopillars. Through Mueller matrix analysis, the spectroscopic polarimetric performance of the ±1 diffraction orders is experimentally demonstrated. This reveals a wavelength shift in the maximum efficiency caused by fabrication-induced conical pillars while still maintaining a polarimetric response close to ideal non-depolarizing Mueller matrices. We highlight the advantage of the spectroscopic Mueller matrix approach, which not only allows for monitoring and control of the fabrication process itself, but also verifies the initial design and produces feedback into the computational design.

Numerical analysis of a compact all-fiber polarization beam splitter based on dual-core photonic crystal fiber with As2S3 thin layer

Modern-day optical systems are evolving towards miniaturization and integration, leading to higher performance demands for polarizing beam splitters (PBSs). A simple-structure and high-performance PBS based on dual-core photonic crystal fiber (DC-PCF) with As2S3 layer is proposed. The finite element method (FEM) and classical coupled-mode theory (CMT) are utilized to investigate the performance of this PBS. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed PBS can achieve a minimum length of 2.65 mm, a minimum extinction ratio of −64 dB, an operating bandwidth of 420 nm, and a minimum insertion loss of 0.03 dB when the optimal parameters include cladding hole diameter of 1.0 μm, central hole diameter of 2.0 μm, lattice spacing of 2.0 μm, and As2S3 ring layer thickness of 50 nm. Moreover, it also possesses a high birefringence of 3.58 × 10−3 and a negative dispersion of −30 ps/km/nm at 1.55 μm. It is believed that the proposed PBS holds great potential to become a critical device in optical multiplexing technologies.

Development of a 483 nm external cavity diode laser with cat-eye reflector

An external cavity diode laser, equipped with a cat-eye reflector setup, an interference filter, and a polarizing beam splitter, has been demonstrated to produce a laser wavelength of approximately 483 nm. This ECDL is based on the affordably priced commercial laser diode, GH04850B2G. Critical characteristics, such as fluctuations in optical power and output wavelength in response to injected current, were investigated. In anticipation of potential experiments involving rubidium Rydberg atoms, a simulation of the electromagnetically induced transparency spectrum was conducted using this laser setup in conjunction with a 780-nm laser.