Title :
Trimming of polymer waveguide Y-junction by rapid photobleaching for tuning the power splitting ratio
Author :
Chen, Antao ; Chuyanov, Vadim ; Marti-Carrera, Felix Ignacio ; Garner, Sean ; Steier, William H. ; Mao, Shane S H ; Younsoo Pa ; Dalton, Larry R. ; Shi, Yongqiang
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. Eng.-Electrophys., Univ. of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Abstract :
We present a novel post-fabrication laser trimming technique to adjust the power splitting ratio of rib waveguide Y-junctions made in thermally crosslinked electrooptic polymers. The trimming is based on the index change due to photobleaching, and it takes only a few seconds. An adjustable range of the splitting ratio as wide as /spl plusmn/20% is achieved with less than 0.2 dB of excess loss. This in situ trimming technique is effective for both the TE and TM modes of the waveguide and is very suitable for automated device processing.
Keywords :
electro-optical devices; integrated optics; laser beam machining; optical fabrication; optical losses; optical polymers; optical saturable absorption; optical waveguides; refractive index; rib waveguides; 0.2 dB; TE modes; TM modes; automated device processing; excess loss; in situ trimming technique; index change; integrated optics; photobleaching; polymer waveguide Y-junction; post-fabrication laser trimming technique; power splitting ratio; rapid photobleaching; rib waveguide Y-junctions; splitting ratio; thermally crosslinked electrooptic polymers; tuning; Electrooptical waveguides; Fiber lasers; Laser tuning; Optical modulation; Optical refraction; Optical variables control; Optical waveguides; Photobleaching; Polymers; Waveguide lasers;
Journal_Title :
Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE
