Combining Four Gaussian Lasers Using Silicon Nitride MMI Slot Waveguide Structure

Abstract

Transceivers that function under a high-speed rate (over 200 Gb/s) need to have more optical power ability to overcome the power losses which is a reason for using a larger RF line connected to a Mach–Zehnder modulator for obtaining high data bitrate communication. One option to solve this problem is to use a complex laser with a power of over 100 milliwatts. However, this option can be complicated for a photonic chip circuit due to the high cost and nonlinear effects, which can increase the system noise. Therefore, we propose a better solution to increase the power level using a 4 × 1 power combiner which is based on multimode interference (MMI) using a silicon nitride (Si3N4) slot waveguide structure. The combiner was solved using the full-vectorial beam propagation method (FV-BPM), and the key parameters were analyzed using Matlab script codes. Results show that the combiner can function well over the O-band spectrum with high combiner efficiency of at least 98.2% after a short light coupling propagation of 28.78 μm. This new study shows how it is possible to obtain a transverse electric mode solution for four Gaussian coherent sources using Si3N4 slot waveguide technology. Furthermore, the back reflection (BR) was solved using a finite difference time-domain method, and the result shows a low BR of 40.15 dB. This new technology can be utilized for combining multiple coherent sources that work with a photonic chip at the O-band range.

An Optical 1×4 Power Splitter Based on Silicon–Nitride MMI Using Strip Waveguide Structures

“…The utilization of Si 3 N 4 waveguide material presents a compelling solution for the design of photonic devices, offering notable advantages attributable to its exceptional properties [ 20 , 21 ]. One significant benefit is its remarkable performance in the O-band range, characterized by low absorption and attenuation, and back reflection (BR) [ 22 ]. This attribute makes Si 3 N 4 an attractive choice for optical applications, ensuring efficient signal transmission.…”

A silicon nitride MMI O-band power combiner based on slot waveguide structures

“…Researchers also show the ability to use slot waveguide technology for realization of TM/TE polarization [31] and green demultiplexer [32]. The using of SI3N4 waveguides for realization of optical devices such as combiner [33][34] and demultiplexer [35][36] have been reported recently. In this work, we propose a design of a 4×1 MMI power combiner based on SI3N4 slot waveguide technology.…”

Non-Volatile Reconfigurable Compact Photonic Logic Gates Based on Phase-Change Materials

“…Simultaneously, as artificial intelligence, big data, and other technologies advance, all-optical logic gates provide new methods for the creation of new kinds of computers. Therefore, photonic logic gates have recently been extensively examined, and various methods, including photonic crystals [4][5][6], semiconductor amplifiers [7,8], and implementation based on multimode interference, have been suggested for their realization [9][10][11][12]. Although these schemes offer greater contrast ratios (CR), they still struggle to achieve ultra-small size and high integrability, and their functions are preset and cannot be reprogrammed.…”