Title :
Hybrid optical circulator using garnet-quartz composite embedded in planar waveguides
Author :
Hanashima, Naoki ; Hata, Kenjiro ; Mochida, Reio ; Oikawa, Toru ; Kineri, Tohru ; Satoh, Yoshinori ; Iwatsuka, Shinji
Author_Institution :
Data Storage & Thin Film Technol. Components Bus. Group, TDK Corp., Chiba, Japan
Abstract :
A novel hybrid configuration of optical circulator is presented. A Garnet-Quartz composite (GQC), which is comprised of four quarter-wave plates and Faraday rotator, is embedded into a groove formed across the branching waveguides pair of Mach-Zehnder interferometer. Optical path difference of the pair is 0 rad for forward path, whereas π for backward path with the GQC, realizing nonreciprocal operation. The forward-to-reverse isolation of 16.2-29.8 dB and the insertion loss of 8.8-9.4 dB are obtained.
Keywords :
Faraday effect; composite materials; garnets; magneto-optical devices; optical circulators; optical losses; optical planar waveguides; optical retarders; quartz; Faraday rotator; Mach-Zehnder interferometer; SiO2; branching waveguides; diffraction loss; garnet-quartz composite; hybrid optical circulator; insertion loss; magnetooptic devices; optical isolator; optical path difference; optical waveguide components; passive waveguide; photonic hybrid integration; photonic integrated circuit; planar waveguides; quarter-wave plates; silica waveguide; Isolators; Magnetooptic devices; Optical devices; Optical films; Optical filters; Optical interferometry; Optical planar waveguides; Optical waveguide components; Optical waveguides; Planar waveguides;
Journal_Title :
Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE
DOI :
10.1109/LPT.2004.831561
