https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/202226601009
Polarization independent 2×2 multimode interference coupler with bricked subwavelength metamaterial
1 Telecommunication Research Institute (TELMA) Universidad de Málaga, CEI Andalucía TECH, Louis Pasteur 35, 29010 Málaga
2 Bionand Center for Nanomedicine and Biotechnology, Parque Tecnológico de Andalucía, Málaga 29590, Spain
3 National Research Council Canada, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0R6, Canada
* Corresponding author: cpa@ic.uma.es
Published online: 13 October 2022
The silicon-on-insulator (SOI) platform enables high integration density in photonic integrated circuits while maintaining compatibility with CMOS fabrication processes. Nevertheless, its inherently high modal birefringence hinders the development of polarization-insensitive devices. The dispersion and anisotropy engineering leveraging subwavelength grating (SWG) metamaterials makes possible the development of polarization agnostic waveguide components. In this work we build upon the bricked SWG metamaterial nanostructures to design a polarization independent 2×2 multimode interference (MMI) coupler for the 220 nm SOI platform, operating in the telecom O-band. The designed device exhibits a 160 nm bandwidth with excess loss, polarization dependent loss and imbalance below 1 dB and phase error lower than 5°.
© The Authors, published by EDP Sciences
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