Dramatic size reduction of waveguide bends on a micron-scale silicon photonic platform.
We demonstrate theoretically and experimentally how highly multimodal high index contrast waveguides with micron-scale cores can be bent, on an ultra-broad band of operation, with bending radii below 10 µm and losses for the fundamental mode below 0.02 dB/90°. The bends have been designed based on the Euler spiral and fabricated on 4 µm thick SOI. The proposed approach enabled also the realization of 180° bends with 1.27 µm effective radii and 0.09 dB loss, which are the smallest low-loss bends ever reported for an optical waveguide. These results pave the way for unprecedented integration density in most semiconductor platforms.
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Espoo, 02040, Finland. matteo.cherchi@vtt.fi
Matteo
M
Cherchi
Sami
S
Ylinen
Mikko
M
Harjanne
Markku
M
Kapulainen
Timo
T
Aalto
D003198:Computer Simulation; D017076:Computer-Aided Design; D055119:Elastic Modulus; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D008027:Light; D008904:Miniaturization; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D012031:Refractometry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012542:Scattering, Radiation; D012825:Silicon / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects; D020349:Surface Plasmon Resonance / Q000295:instrumentation*
D012825:Silicon