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A wideband polarization rotator-splitter based on imec iSiPP50G silicon photonics platform

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38 views5 pages

A wideband polarization rotator-splitter based on imec iSiPP50G silicon photonics platform

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yiwang.liu001
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PROCEEDINGS OF SPIE

SPIEDigitalLibrary.org/conference-proceedings-of-spie

A wideband polarization rotator-


splitter based on imec iSiPP50G
silicon photonics platform

Tianren Fan, Reza Safian, Swapnajit Chakravarty,


Leimeng Zhuang

Tianren Fan, Reza Safian, Swapnajit Chakravarty, Leimeng Zhuang, "A


wideband polarization rotator-splitter based on imec iSiPP50G silicon
photonics platform," Proc. SPIE 11691, Silicon Photonics XVI, 1169105 (5
March 2021); doi: 10.1117/12.2577924

Event: SPIE OPTO, 2021, Online Only

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A wideband polarization rotator-splitter based on imec iSiPP50G
silicon photonics platform
Tianren Fan, Reza Safian, Swapnajit Chakravarty, Leimeng Zhuang
imec USA, Kissimmee, FL

Abstract
We demonstrate a polarization rotator-splitter (PRS) design on standard 220 nm silicon-on-
insulator (SOI) wafers with all rib waveguides and 2 µm silicon dioxide (SiO 2) claddings. The
design is fully compatible with the imec iSiPP50G silicon photonics platform. We show TM0-TE0
converting loss < 0.5 dB and all polarization crosstalk < -10 dB in the wavelength range of 1500-
1600 nm.

1.INTRODUCTION
Coherent transceiver is an important element in the optical network to enable data transmission
rates above 400 Gbps. It uses polarization, amplitude, and phase to carry information, which is
enabled by IQ optical modulators [1]. Coherent transceiver has several advantages over other
transceiver architectures such as PAM4 based transceiver: longer transmission range, larger
capacity, less complexity, lower cost, and lower power consumption [2]. Silicon (Si) on insulator
(SOI) provides a great platform for making photonic integrated circuits (PICs) that can be used for
producing integrated coherent transceivers with small form factors and low cost. Within the many
devices in the PIC, polarization rotators and splitters are essential components in the coherent
optical transceiver to allow the transmission of signals in different polarizations. More recently,
polarization rotator-splitter (PRS) has become a more popular device that can achieve the function
of both changing and combining both polarizations [3, 4]. Many PRS devices have been
demonstrated on SOI, including asymmetrical directional coupler based devices [5], multi-mode
waveguide directional coupler based devices [3, 4], MMI based devices[6], subwavelength grating
based devices [7], and devices with arbitrary pattern via inverse design [8].

2. SIMULATION RESULTS
We demonstrate a PRS design on standard 220 nm SOI wafers with all rib waveguides and 2 µm
silicon dioxide (SiO2) claddings. Figure 1 shows the schematic of the PRS design with parameters
shown next to each section. The design is fully compatible with the imec iSiPP50G silicon
photonics platform. It requires minimum alignment between the shallowly etched waveguide ridge
and the pedestal region.

Silicon Photonics XVI, edited by Graham T. Reed, Andrew P. Knights, Proc. of SPIE Vol. 11691,
1169105 · © 2021 SPIE · CCC code: 0277-786X/21/$21 · doi: 10.1117/12.2577924

Proc. of SPIE Vol. 11691 1169105-1


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Fig. 1. Schematic of the PRS design. The light blue region is the pedestal of the rib waveguides.

Fig. 2. (a) Effective index of the optical modes in the rib waveguide vs. different waveguide ridge
widths. (b) Transmission of the mode converter at 1550 nm wavelength vs. different taper lengths.
(c) Transmission spectrum of the optical modes in the mode converter with an optimum length of
84 µm.
We taper both the pedestal region and the ridge region of a rib waveguide to realize polarization
rotation from TM0 mode to TE1 mode by taking advantage of the mode hybridization as a result
of the structural asymmetry. The mode hybridization happens at a ridge width of ~ 510 nm, as
shown in fig. 2 (a). From fig. 2 (b), we can find an optimum length of 84 µm for the taper, which
leads to negligible mode transition loss from TM0 to TE1. Due to the adiabatic nature of the taper,
it also operates at a large bandwidth with transmission loss less than 0.01 dB over 100 nm
bandwidth. The mode converter also serves as a transition taper from ridge waveguide to rib
waveguide, which provides our PRS a connection to the outside ridge waveguide routing.

Proc. of SPIE Vol. 11691 1169105-2


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Fig. 3. (a) Effective index of the optical modes in the rib waveguide vs. different waveguide ridge
widths. (b) Transmission of the directional coupler at 1550 nm wavelength vs. different lengths.
After mode conversion, we use a directional coupler to split TE1 mode into another arm while
converting it to TE0 mode. From Fig. 3 (a), TE1 mode in a rib waveguide with 910 nm width has
the same effective index as the one of the TE0 mode in a rib waveguide of 400 nm. By changing
the length of the directional coupler, we can achieve near 100% coupling from TE1 mode in the
bottom waveguide to the TE0 mode in the top waveguide.

Fig. 4. Transmission spectrum of the optical modes in the (a) bottom output and (b) top output. (c)
Mode profile of the PRS when TE0 or TM0 mode is launched at the input.

Proc. of SPIE Vol. 11691 1169105-3


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The entire device has a footprint of 160 µm × 11 µm. We show TM0-TE0 converting loss < 0.5
dB and all polarization crosstalk < -10 dB in the wavelength range of 1500-1600 nm, as shown in
fig. 4 (a) and (b). Figure 4 (c) shows the mode profile of the PRS with different input polarization.
The approach proposed in the paper is a compact design for a wideband PRS in the imec iSiPP50G
silicon photonics platform.
REFERENCES

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Mikkelsen, M. Givehchi, C. Rasmussen, and S. Y. Park, "Single-Chip Silicon Photonics 100-Gb/s
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2. J. P. Elbers, N. Eiselt, A. Dochhan, D. Rafique, and H. Grießer, "PAM4 vs Coherent for DCI
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Technical Digest (online) (Optical Society of America, 2017), SpTh2D.1.
3. D. Dai and J. E. Bowers, "Novel concept for ultracompact polarization splitter-rotator based on
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4. W. D. Sacher, T. Barwicz, B. J. Taylor, and J. K. Poon, "Polarization rotator-splitters in standard
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efficient silicon polarization splitter and rotator," Apl Photonics 1, 091304 (2016).
6. Y. Ding, H. Ou, and C. Peucheret, "Wideband polarization splitter and rotator with large fabrication
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7. Y. Xiong, J. G. Wangüemert-Pérez, D.-X. Xu, J. H. Schmid, P. Cheben, and N. Y. Winnie,
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8. W. Chang, S. Xu, M. Cheng, D. Liu, and M. Zhang, "Inverse design of a single-step-etched
ultracompact silicon polarization rotator," Optics Express 28, 28343-28351 (2020).

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