Zero-Birefringence Silicon Waveguides Based on Tilted Subwavelength Metamaterials
Polarization independent silicon-on-insulator nanowires are highly sought after, due the inherent high birefringence of this material platform. State-of-the-art designs of non-birefringent waveguides include ridge waveguides and square nanowires, which either imply large dimensions, multiple etching...
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IEEE
2019-01-01
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| Series: | IEEE Photonics Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8846035/ |
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| author | Alaine Herrero-Bermello Jose Manuel Luque-Gonzalez Robert Halir Pavel Cheben Alejandro Ortega-Monux Inigo Molina-Fernandez Aitor V. Velasco |
| author_facet | Alaine Herrero-Bermello Jose Manuel Luque-Gonzalez Robert Halir Pavel Cheben Alejandro Ortega-Monux Inigo Molina-Fernandez Aitor V. Velasco |
| author_sort | Alaine Herrero-Bermello |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Polarization independent silicon-on-insulator nanowires are highly sought after, due the inherent high birefringence of this material platform. State-of-the-art designs of non-birefringent waveguides include ridge waveguides and square nanowires, which either imply large dimensions, multiple etching steps, low fabrication tolerances or high wavelength dependence. In this work, we overcome all the aforementioned limitations through tilted subwavelength structures which provide anisotropy control of the resulting metamaterial. With a waveguide cross section of only 300 nm × 550 nm (height × width), the zero-birefringence point is obtained for an approximately <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$48^\circ$</tex-math></inline-formula>-tilt of the subwavelength structure. Birefringence of the nominal design deteriorates by only <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$9.10^{-3}$</tex-math></inline-formula> even in the presence of size deviations of <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\pm$</tex-math></inline-formula>10 nm. Moreover, birefringence is maintained under <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$6.10^{-3}$</tex-math></inline-formula> in a 100-nm bandwidth around the central wavelength of 1550 nm. This innovative approach is readly adaptable to a wide range of waveguide sizes, while maintaining single-etch-step fabrication. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-fe28098f0a0e473e88a2bbf5e3cd191e |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1943-0655 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2019-01-01 |
| publisher | IEEE |
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| series | IEEE Photonics Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-fe28098f0a0e473e88a2bbf5e3cd191e2025-08-20T03:32:46ZengIEEEIEEE Photonics Journal1943-06552019-01-011151810.1109/JPHOT.2019.29429738846035Zero-Birefringence Silicon Waveguides Based on Tilted Subwavelength MetamaterialsAlaine Herrero-Bermello0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7842-5007Jose Manuel Luque-Gonzalez1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6838-8641Robert Halir2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5560-3189Pavel Cheben3Alejandro Ortega-Monux4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8313-6381Inigo Molina-Fernandez5https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9596-4117Aitor V. Velasco6https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7729-8595Instituto de Óptica, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Madrid, EspañaDepto. de Ingeniería de Comunicaciones, Universidad de Málaga, ETSI Telecomunicación, Campus de Teatinos s/n, Málaga, EspañaDepto. de Ingeniería de Comunicaciones, Universidad de Málaga, ETSI Telecomunicación, Campus de Teatinos s/n, Málaga, EspañaNational Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, ON, CanadaDepto. de Ingeniería de Comunicaciones, Universidad de Málaga, ETSI Telecomunicación, Campus de Teatinos s/n, Málaga, EspañaDepto. de Ingeniería de Comunicaciones, Universidad de Málaga, ETSI Telecomunicación, Campus de Teatinos s/n, Málaga, EspañaInstituto de Óptica, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Madrid, EspañaPolarization independent silicon-on-insulator nanowires are highly sought after, due the inherent high birefringence of this material platform. State-of-the-art designs of non-birefringent waveguides include ridge waveguides and square nanowires, which either imply large dimensions, multiple etching steps, low fabrication tolerances or high wavelength dependence. In this work, we overcome all the aforementioned limitations through tilted subwavelength structures which provide anisotropy control of the resulting metamaterial. With a waveguide cross section of only 300 nm × 550 nm (height × width), the zero-birefringence point is obtained for an approximately <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$48^\circ$</tex-math></inline-formula>-tilt of the subwavelength structure. Birefringence of the nominal design deteriorates by only <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$9.10^{-3}$</tex-math></inline-formula> even in the presence of size deviations of <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\pm$</tex-math></inline-formula>10 nm. Moreover, birefringence is maintained under <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$6.10^{-3}$</tex-math></inline-formula> in a 100-nm bandwidth around the central wavelength of 1550 nm. This innovative approach is readly adaptable to a wide range of waveguide sizes, while maintaining single-etch-step fabrication.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8846035/Zero-birefringence waveguidespolarization independenceanisotropy engineeringsub-wavelength grating (SWG)silicon-on-insulator (SOI). |
| spellingShingle | Alaine Herrero-Bermello Jose Manuel Luque-Gonzalez Robert Halir Pavel Cheben Alejandro Ortega-Monux Inigo Molina-Fernandez Aitor V. Velasco Zero-Birefringence Silicon Waveguides Based on Tilted Subwavelength Metamaterials IEEE Photonics Journal Zero-birefringence waveguides polarization independence anisotropy engineering sub-wavelength grating (SWG) silicon-on-insulator (SOI). |
| title | Zero-Birefringence Silicon Waveguides Based on Tilted Subwavelength Metamaterials |
| title_full | Zero-Birefringence Silicon Waveguides Based on Tilted Subwavelength Metamaterials |
| title_fullStr | Zero-Birefringence Silicon Waveguides Based on Tilted Subwavelength Metamaterials |
| title_full_unstemmed | Zero-Birefringence Silicon Waveguides Based on Tilted Subwavelength Metamaterials |
| title_short | Zero-Birefringence Silicon Waveguides Based on Tilted Subwavelength Metamaterials |
| title_sort | zero birefringence silicon waveguides based on tilted subwavelength metamaterials |
| topic | Zero-birefringence waveguides polarization independence anisotropy engineering sub-wavelength grating (SWG) silicon-on-insulator (SOI). |
| url | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8846035/ |
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