Open AccessLow-loss silicon nitride strip-slot mode converter based on MMI
Author(s) -
Xiangpeng Ou,
Yan Yang,
Bo Tang,
Donghao Li,
Fubao Sun,
Peng Zhang,
Ruonan Liu,
Bin Li,
Zhihua Li
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - Uncategorized
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.427802
Subject(s) - materials science , photonics , waveguide , optoelectronics , fabrication , silicon photonics , silicon nitride , coupling loss , refractive index , photonic integrated circuit , silicon , optics , hybrid silicon laser , optical fiber , physics , medicine , alternative medicine , pathology
Slot waveguide has attracted a lot of attention due to its ability to confine light in the low refractive index region, while strip waveguide acts as the basic component of guiding light due to its relatively low optical loss. In the multifunctional photonic integrated chips, it is critical to achieve the low loss transition between the strip waveguide and the slot waveguide. In this work, a silicon nitride strip-slot mode converter with high efficiency, large bandwidth, and large fabrication tolerance are proposed and demonstrated through the numerical investigation and experiments. The coupling efficiency of the mode converter is up to - 0.1 dB (97.7%), which enables the extremely low transition loss between the strip waveguide and the slot waveguide. Moreover, the fabrication process of silicon nitride photonic devices with high performance is introduced, which is fully compatible with the CMOS technology. Photonic devices based on silicon nitride with the characteristics of the low optical loss and the temperature insensitivity represent a new paradigm in realizing silicon-based photonic multifunctional chips.