Broad-band high-silica optical waveguide star coupler with asymmetric directional couplers

A broadband optical waveguide star coupler with asymmetric directional couplers is proposed. A coupling or splitting ratio of the coupler is flattened with respect to wavelength by choosing appropriate values for Δβ and complete power transfer length. The wavelength characteristics of uniform and alternating Δθb directional couplers are investigated, and their broadband operation is shown theoretically. To demonstrate the feasibility of the new proposal, 8×8 star couplers composed of such asymmetric directional couplers are fabricated by using high-silica waveguides on a silicon chip. A star coupler composed of asymmetric directional couplers exhibited 2-dB loss variation in the wavelength range of 1.3-1.55 μm, and this value was almost one fourth of that of a star coupler composed of symmetric directional couplers