Silicon-based compact mode converter using bricked subwavelength grating

Abstract

Facing the increasing capacity requirements of on-chip optical interconnects, mode division multiplexing technology (MDM), which fully uses the different spatial eigenmodes at the same wavelength as independent channels to transmit optical signals, has attracted tremendous interest. Mode-order converter that can convert the fundamental mode into high-order mode is a key component in MDM system. However, it is still very challenging to achieve compact mode-order converters with high performances. Subwavelength grating (SWG) can be equivalent to homogenous material, which has the prominent advantages such as controlling over birefringence, dispersion and anisotropy, thus making photonic devices possess high performance. Wheras the conventional SWG only needs single-etch step, but the implementation of SWG structure usually requires a fabrication resolution on the order of 100 nm and below, which is difficult for current wafer-scale fabrication technology. The anisotropic response of SWG can be further engineered by introducing bricked topology structure, providing an additional degree of freedom in the design. Meanwhile, the requirement for fabrication resolution can also be reduced (> 100 nm). In this work, we experimentally demonstrate compact TE₀-TE₁ mode-order converter and TE₀-TE₂ mode-order converter by using a bricked subwavelength grating (BSWG) based on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) with the BSWG having a minimum feature size of 145 nm. In the proposed mode-order converter, a quasi-TE₀ mode is generated in the BSWG region, which can be regarded as an effective bridge between the two TE modes to be converted. Flexible mode conversion can be realized by only choosing appropriate structural parameters for specific mode transitions between input/output modes and the quasi-TE₀ mode. By combining three-dimensional (3D) finite difference time domain (FDTD) and particle swarm optimization (PSO) method, TE₀-TE₁ mode-order converter and TE₀-TE₂ mode-order converter are optimally designed. They can convert TE₀ mode into TE₁ and TE₂ mode with conversion length of 9.39 µm and 11.27 µm, respectively. The simulation results show that the insertion loss of < 1 dB and crosstalk of < –15 dB are achieved for both TE₀-TE₁ mode-order converter and TE₀-TE₂ mode-order converter, their corresponding working bandwidths being 128 nm (1511–1639 nm) and 126 nm (1527–1653 nm), respectively. The measurement results indicate that insertion loss and crosstalk are, respectively, less than 2.5 dB and –10 dB in a bandwidth of 68 nm (1512–1580 nm, limited by the laser tuning range and grating coupler).