Tapered, both in dimension and in index, velocity coupler: theory and experiment

The authors consider a tapered velocity coupler (TVC) that meets the adiabatic invariance condition with sufficiently strong coupling between the fundamental modes of individual guides in the middle region of the coupler while permitting individual excitation at the input end and sorting of the modes at the output end. This approach helps reduce the device length considerably by permitting much higher taper angle. A TVC consisting of one tapered and another straight, graded index waveguide is modeled using the normal modes of the entire, composite TVC structure. The analytical results are in excellent agreement with experimental results for a TVC fabricated in Ti:LiNbO₃. It is shown that the representation of the local normal modes as the superposition of the modes of the uncoupled guides leads to erroneous results