Ultra-Compact Power Splitters with Low Loss in Arbitrary Direction Based on Inverse Design Method

Abstract

The power splitter is a device that splits the energy from an input signal into multiple outputs with equal or uneven energy. Recently, the use of algorithms to intelligently design silicon-based photonic devices has attracted widespread attention. Thus, many optimization algorithms, which are called inverse design algorithms, have been proposed. In this paper, we use the Direct Binary Search (DBS) algorithm designed with three 1 × 3 power splitters with arbitrary directions theoretically. They have any direction and can be connected to other devices in any direction, which greatly reduces the space occupied by the optical integrated circuit. Through the simulation that comes about, we are able to get the insertion loss (IL) of the device we designed to be less than 5.55 dB, 5.49 dB, and 5.32 dB, separately. Then, the wavelength is 1530–1560 nm, so it can be used in the optical communication system. To discuss the impact of the footprint on device performance, we also designed another device with the same function as the second one from the above three devices. Its IL is less than 5.40 dB. Although it occupies a larger area, it has an advantage in IL. Through the design results, three 1 × 3 power splitters can be freely combined to realize any direction, multi-channel, ultra-compact power splitters, and can be better connected with different devices to achieve different functions. At the same time, we also show an example of a combination. The IL of each port of the combined 1 × 6 power splitter is less than 8.82 dB.

A new amber outcrop from the Oligocene Nanning Basin of Guangxi, southern China

“…This phenomenon is consistent with that mentioned in Ref. [52]. It is worth to note that a larger device size means a longer propagation path, hence the propagation loss also increases.…”

“…specified footprints or structures) without manually tedious parameter adjustment works, saving massive resources. There are many reports on developments or improvements of nano-photonic devices using inverse design with various optimization algorithms [47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60], but only few studies about the applications of inverse design on nonreciprocal devices [61][62][63][64], which are normally based on magneto-optical effects. In this study, we introduce several magnetic-free nonreciprocal devices that avoid use of magneto-optical materials and magnets, which are difficult to be compatible with current semiconductor integration technology.…”

Inverse design and characterization of compact, broadband, and low-loss chip-scale photonic power splitters

“…Examples include mode-converters [10][11][12][13][14], non-reciprocal routers [15], circuit crossings [16], high-spatial-confinement cavities [17], metalenses [13,[18][19][20] and demultiplexers [21][22][23]. Even for design challenges traditionally dominated by intuition-based approaches, such as grating couplers, mirrors, waveguide bends, and beam splitters, inverse design can offer significant improvements by minimizing footprints [24][25][26] and extending bandwidths [27,28]. Here we are concerned with the inverse design of compact, highly efficient, broadband, 50:50 power splitters, which are essential devices in both quantum photonic architectures [29][30][31] and classical applications such as signal routing [32], spectroscopy [33], and imaging [34].…”

Low-loss and broadband arbitrary ratios 1 × 2 power splitter based on asymmetrically tapered multimode interference

“…Additionally, the loss in arbitrary Yjunctions is influenced by the size of the gap in the branch [16]. Furthermore, the adoption of methodologies for designing photonic devices, such as shape optimization, topology optimization or inverse design, has attracted widespread interest in recent years [17][18][19][20]. These approaches offer advantages in reducing device size while maintaining good performance through the specialized algorithms.…”