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Augmented low index waveguide for confining light in low index media
Author(s) -
Alam Muhammad Z.,
Sun Xiao,
Mojahedi Mo,
Aitchison J. Stewart
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
laser and photonics reviews
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.778
H-Index - 116
eISSN - 1863-8899
pISSN - 1863-8880
DOI - 10.1002/lpor.201500224
Subject(s) - fabrication , waveguide , optics , refractive index , photonics , silicon photonics , optoelectronics , nonlinear system , materials science , nonlinear optics , simplicity , computer science , physics , medicine , laser , alternative medicine , pathology , quantum mechanics
Guiding light in the low index region of a high refractive index contrast waveguide can be beneficial for many applications including sensing, nonlinear optics and electro‐optics. Existing methods to achieve this goal suffer from fabrication complexity, large loss, or poor optical confinement. We propose a simple structure to achieve a significant enhancement of light confinement in the low index medium. We explain the guiding principle of this structure using geometrical optics, and suggest a number of applications where this guiding structure can provide significant performance benefits. The combination of simplicity, ease of fabrication, and good confinement makes this waveguide an attractive choice for a wide range of applications. To illustrate this, we consider the integration of a nonlinear polymer with a silicon photonic waveguide, and show that significantly better performance with an easier fabrication process can be achieved using this new scheme.