Analysis of the birefringence of a silicon-on-insulator rib waveguide

• A detailed analysis of the polarization characteristics (birefringence) of a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) rib waveguide is given. The fundamental TE- and TM-polarized modes of the SOI rib waveguide are calculated by a semivectorial finite-difference method. The rib width and the slab height of the SOI rib waveguide are normalized with respect to the total height of the silicon layer. A general relation between the two normalized parameters for a nonbirefringent SOI rib waveguide is obtained. According to this relation a nonbirefringent SOI rib waveguide can easily be designed. The fabrication tolerance for a nonbirefringent SOI rib waveguide is also analyzed, revealing that the tolerance can be increased by use of a larger total height of the silicon layer.

Subject headings

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Elektroteknik och elektronik (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Electrical Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Information Engineering (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Rib waveguides

Single-mode fibres (SMF)

Birefringence

CMOS integrated circuits

Finite difference method

Light polarization

Mathematical models

Optical fibers

Refractive index

Semiconducting films

Silicon on insulator technology

Electrical engineering, electronics and photonics

Elektroteknik, elektronik och fotonik

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)