Further evidence of strong coupling effects in three-arm Ti:LiNbO/sub 3/ directional couplers

The switch characteristics of three-arm integrated optic directional couplers with both symmetric and antisymmetric drive voltages are examined. The symmetry properties of these devices, predicted by previous theory, are shown to be violated and the reasons for this are discussed in terms of scalar strong coupling coefficients normally neglected as small. It is also shown that the inclusion of modal overlaps introduces additional coupling terms and causes significant power redistribution in the bend sections. Experimental measurements for the antisymmetric configuration are presented, and it is shown that different electrode loading of the center and outer guides affects device operation.<>