Ultracompact monolithic integration of balanced, polarization diversity photodetectors for coherent lightwave receivers

The authors have monolithically integrated an optical front-end on InP for balanced, polarization-diversity coherent lightwave reception which is only 1.3-mm long. Low on-chip insertion loss (<4.5 dB) and balanced photoresponse (1.05:1 or better) are achieved at 1.5-μm wavelength using straightforward, regrowth-free fabrication. Low-capacitance photodetectors (≤0.15 pF) are employed for high bandwidth operation

Ultracompact, low-loss directional couplers on InP based on self-imaging by multimode interference

We report extremely compact (494-µm-long 3 dB splitters, including input/output bends), polarization-insensitive, zero-gap directional couplers on InP with a highly multimode interference region that are based on the self-imaging effect. We measured cross-state extinctions better than 28 dB and on-chip insertion losses of 0.5 dB/coupler plus 1 dB/cm guide propagation loss at 1523 nm wavelength

Multi-scale electrodynamics (MELD): a CAD tool for photonics analysis and design

In FY97 we completed work on the (MELD) code, a comprehensive, multiple-length-scale, Graphical User Interface (GUI)-driven photonics design tool. In 1997 MELD was rated one of the one hundred most technologically significant new products of the year by Research and Development magazine

Low-loss, Ultra-compact Monolithic Integration Of High-speed Polarization-diversity Photodetectors

Polarization-selective optical devices are required for polarization-diversity coherent lightwave receivers.[l] Monolithic integration of such devices with photodetectors improves detector functionality and eliminates package complexity by reducing part count and hybrid optical interconnects. Compatibility with high III-V materials' cost, however, requires simple, high-yield processes and compact device size. We previously proposed a simple and compact integration scheme employing metal-loaded vertical couplers for polarization splitting and vertically-coupled photodiodes for O/E conversion. Initial experiments using InGaAsP/InP demonstrated satisfactory optical functionality, with 10.6 and 16dB polarization selectivity for TE and TM polarized-light.[2] Here we show how such integrated devices can be modified to achieve suitable electronic performance, including wide bandwidth and high quantum efficiency

Calculation of farfield distortion for a tilted-facet SOA

Semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs) are very important elements for telecommunications, computer communications, and signal processing applications. For stable, low noise operation, the modal reflection into the guided SOA mode must be minimized; modal reflectivity typically has to be kept below about {minus}40 dB. This can be accomplished by antireflection (AR) coatings, or by tilting of the SOA end facet. The latter approach has been vigorously pursued recently, because effective AR coatings require very high tolerances and have polarization-dependent reflectivities. Consequently, there has been a great deal of theoretical effort aimed at calculating the modal reflectivity from tilted interfaces, using a variety of approaches. However, there has been little attention directed toward calculating the transmitted field of a tilted-facet SOA. This is a problem of considerable importance, because the coupling of the SOA light to an element such as an optical fiber depends critically on the field distribution at the entrance plane to the fiber. Moreover, experimental measurements of the farfield of tilted-facet SOAs have revealed a curious crescent-shaped intensity distribution. To improve coupling efficiency it is important to understand to what extent this phenomenon is due to the SOA modal field distribution and to what extent it is due to the tilted interface. The authors explain the crescent-shaped farfield intensity distribution of tilted-facet SOAs using vector wave optics, and discuss implications for coupling to other optical elements

Cascaded wavelength division multiplexing for byte-wide optical interconnects

We demonstrate a wavelength division multiplexing approach for byte-wide optical interconnects over multimode fiber optic ribbon cable using filters based on common plastic ferrules. A dual wavelength link with eight cascaded filter stages exhibits bit error rates {le}l0{sup -l4}

Low-loss, Ultra-compact Monolithic Integration Of High-speed Polarization-diversity Photodetectors

Polarization-selective optical devices are required for polarization-diversity coherent lightwave receivers.[l] Monolithic integration of such devices with photodetectors improves detector functionality and eliminates package complexity by reducing part count and hybrid optical interconnects. Compatibility with high III-V materials' cost, however, requires simple, high-yield processes and compact device size. We previously proposed a simple and compact integration scheme employing metal-loaded vertical couplers for polarization splitting and vertically-coupled photodiodes for O/E conversion. Initial experiments using InGaAsP/InP demonstrated satisfactory optical functionality, with 10.6 and 16dB polarization selectivity for TE and TM polarized-light.[2] Here we show how such integrated devices can be modified to achieve suitable electronic performance, including wide bandwidth and high quantum efficiency