skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Explore Research Products in the PAR
It may take a few hours for recently added research products to appear in PAR search results.


Title: Anisotropic leaky-like perturbation with subwavelength gratings enables zero crosstalk
Abstract Electromagnetic coupling via an evanescent field or radiative wave is a primary characteristic of light, allowing optical signal/power transfer in a photonic circuit but limiting integration density. A leaky mode, which combines both evanescent field and radiative wave, causes stronger coupling and is thus considered not ideal for dense integration. Here we show that a leaky oscillation with anisotropic perturbation rather can achieve completely zero crosstalk realized by subwavelength grating (SWG) metamaterials. The oscillating fields in the SWGs enable coupling coefficients in each direction to counteract each other, resulting in completely zero crosstalk. We experimentally demonstrate such an extraordinarily low coupling between closely spaced identical leaky SWG waveguides, suppressing the crosstalk by ≈40 dB compared to conventional strip waveguides, corresponding to ≈100 times longer coupling length. This leaky-SWG suppresses the crosstalk of transverse–magnetic (TM) mode, which is challenging due to its low confinement, and marks a novel approach in electromagnetic coupling applicable to other spectral regimes and generic devices.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1930784
PAR ID:
10468028
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
Optica
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Light: Science & Applications
Volume:
12
Issue:
1
ISSN:
2047-7538
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. ; ; ; ; ; (, Optica Publishing Group)
    We show that a TM leaky mode realized by subwavelength gratings (SWGs) can eliminate crosstalk between proximate waveguides. Oscillating fields i n t he SWGs allow coupling coefficient components to counteract each other, resulting in zero crosstalk. 
    more » « less
  2. ; ; ; (, Nano Convergence)
    Abstract Silicon photonic index sensors have received significant attention for label-free bio and gas-sensing applications, offering cost-effective and scalable solutions. Here, we introduce an ultra-compact silicon photonic refractive index sensor that leverages zero-crosstalk singularity responses enabled by subwavelength gratings. The subwavelength gratings are precisely engineered to achieve an anisotropic perturbation-led zero-crosstalk, resulting in a single transmission dip singularity in the spectrum that is independent of device length. The sensor is optimized for the transverse magnetic mode operation, where the subwavelength gratings are arranged perpendicular to the propagation direction to support a leaky-like mode and maximize the evanescent field interaction with the analyte space. Experimental results demonstrate a high wavelength sensitivity of − 410 nm/RIU and an intensity sensitivity of 395 dB/RIU, with a compact device footprint of approximately 82.8 μm2. Distinct from other resonant and interferometric sensors, our approach provides an FSR-free single-dip spectral response on a small device footprint, overcoming common challenges faced by traditional sensors, such as signal/phase ambiguity, sensitivity fading, limited detection range, and the necessity for large device footprints. This makes our sensor ideal for simplified intensity interrogation. The proposed sensor holds promise for a range of on-chip refractive index sensing applications, from gas to biochemical detection, representing a significant step towards efficient and miniaturized photonic sensing solutions. Graphical Abstract 
    more » « less
  3. ; ; (, Optics Express)
    We investigate silicon waveguides with subwavelength-scale modulation for applications in free-electron-photon interactions. The modulation enables velocity matching and efficient interactions between low-energy electrons and co-propagating photons. Specifically, we design a subwavelength-grating (SWG) waveguide for interactions between 23-keV free electrons and ≈1500-nm photons. The SWG waveguide and electron system exhibit a coupling coefficient of |gQu| = 0.23, and as we corroborate with time-domain, particle-in-cell simulations, the system operates as a backward-wave oscillator. Overall, our results show that modulated waveguides could open the door to strong, extended interactions between photons and low-energy (10-keV-scale) electrons, like those typically present in scanning electron microscopes. Additionally, our SWG waveguide design suggests that periodic waveguides could offer intriguing dispersion engineering opportunities for tailoring these interactions. 
    more » « less
  4. ; ; ; ; (, Optics Express)
    We present a broadband integrated photonic polarization splitter and rotator (PSR) using adiabatically tapered coupled waveguides with subwavelength grating (SWG) claddings. The PSR adiabatically rotates and splits the fundamental transverse-magnetic (TM0) input to the fundamental transverse-electric (TE0) mode in the coupler waveguide, while passing the TE0input through the same waveguide. The SWGs work as an anisotropic metamaterial and facilitate modal conversions, making the PSR efficient and broadband. We rigorously present our design approaches in each section and show the SWG effect by comparing with and without the SWG claddings. The coupling coefficients in each segment explicitly show a stronger coupling effect when the SWGs are included, confirmed by the coupled-mode theory simulations. The full numerical simulation shows that the SWG-PSR operates at 1500–1750 nm (≈250 nm) wavelengths with an extinction ratio larger than 20 dB, confirmed by the experiment for the 1490–1590 nm range. The insertion losses are below 1.3 dB. Since our PSR is designed based on adiabatical mode evolution, the proposed PSR is expected to be tolerant to fabrication variations and should be broadly applicable to polarization management in photonic integrated circuits. 
    more » « less
  5. ; ; (, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London)
    null (Ed.)
    We derive a radiative transfer equation that accounts for coupling from surface waves to body waves and the other way around. The model is the acoustic wave equation in a two-dimensional waveguide with reflecting boundary. The waveguide has a thin, weakly randomly heterogeneous layer near the top surface, and a thick homogeneous layer beneath it. There are two types of modes that propagate along the axis of the waveguide: those that are almost trapped in the thin layer, and thus model surface waves, and those that penetrate deep in the waveguide, and thus model body waves. The remaining modes are evanescent waves. We introduce a mathematical theory of mode coupling induced by scattering in the thin layer, and derive a radiative transfer equation which quantifies the mean mode power exchange.We study the solution of this equation in the asymptotic limit of infinite width of the waveguide. The main result is a quantification of the rate of convergence of the mean mode powers toward equipartition. 
    more » « less
  • Citation Formats
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
  • BibTeX
  • Text Encoded Conversion
  • XML
  • Save / Share this Record
  • Send to Email