title: Angled multimode interferometer for bidirectional wavelength division (de)multiplexing.
abstract: We have demonstrated a bidirectional wavelength division (de)multiplexer (WDM) on the silicon-on-insulator platform using two 4-channel angled multimode interferometers (AMMIs) sharing the same multimode interference waveguide. An excellent match of the peak transmission wavelength of each channel between the two AMMIs was achieved. The input and output access waveguides were arranged in a configuration such that the propagation of light of one AMMI in the multimode interference waveguide suffered minimal perturbation by the input and output waveguides of the other AMMI. This type of device is ideal for the WDM system for datacom or telecom applications, e.g. an integrated optical transceiver, where the transmission wavelengths are required to match with the receiving wavelengths. The device also benefits from simple fabrication (as only a single lithography and etching step is required), improved convenience for the transceiver layout design, a reduction in tuning power and circuitry and efficient use of layout space. A low insertion loss of 3-4 dB, and low crosstalk of -15 to -20 dB, was achieved.
authors.affiliation: Optoelectronics Research Centre , University of Southampton , Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Optoelectronics Research Centre , University of Southampton , Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK.
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Thomson
authors.affiliation: Optoelectronics Research Centre , University of Southampton , Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK.
authors.forename: A Z
authors.initials: AZ
authors.lastname: Khokhar
authors.affiliation: Optoelectronics Research Centre , University of Southampton , Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Stanković
authors.affiliation: Optoelectronics Research Centre , University of Southampton , Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK.
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.affiliation: Optoelectronics Research Centre , University of Southampton , Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK.
authors.forename: F Y
authors.initials: FY
authors.lastname: Gardes
authors.affiliation: Optoelectronics Research Centre , University of Southampton , Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK.
authors.forename: J Soler
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Penades
authors.affiliation: Optoelectronics Research Centre , University of Southampton , Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK.
authors.forename: G Z
authors.initials: GZ
authors.lastname: Mashanovich
authors.affiliation: Optoelectronics Research Centre , University of Southampton , Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK.
authors.forename: G T
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: Reed
keywords: infrared; silicon photonics; wavelength division (de)multiplexer