93-THz ultra-broadband and ultra-low loss Y-junction photonic power splitter with phased inverse design

Abstract

Optical power splitters with ultra-broadband and ultra-low insertion loss are desired in the field of photonic integration. Combining two inverse design algorithms for staged optimization, we present the design of a Y-junction photonic power splitter with 700 nm wavelength bandwidth (from 1200 nm to 1900 nm) within a 0.2 dB insertion loss, corresponding to a 93 THz frequency bandwidth. The average insertion loss is approximately −0.057 dB in the valuable C-band. Moreover, we comprehensively compared the insertion loss performance of different types and sizes of curved waveguides, and also give the cases of 1:4 and 1:6 cascaded power splitters. These scalable Y-junction splitters provide new alternatives for high-performance photonic integration.