Guided Wave Optics

3.46 Fall 2008

Photonic Materials & Devices

Guided wave optics is ALL about waveguide modes.

“When asked, many well-trained scientists and engineers will say that they
understand what a mode is, but will be unable to define the idea of modes
and will also be unable to remember where they learned the idea!”
Quantum Mechanics for Scientists and Engineers, David A.B. Miller
Resources
 Fundamentals of Photonics
 E. A. Saleh and M. C. Teich
 Ch. 7 and 8: guided wave optics and fiber optics
 Exercise caution when using the ray optics picture
 Waves and Fields in Optoelectronics
 H. A. Haus
 Ch. 6 and 7
 Photonic Crystals: Molding the Flow of Light
 J. D. Joannopoulos
 Ch. 2: Electrodynamics and QM compared
Photonic device: guiding of light
Waveguide geometries and terminologies
2-d optical confinement
1-d optical confinement

cladding nlow core nlow nlow

core nhigh nhigh nhigh

cladding nlow cladding nlow

Slab waveguide Channel/photonic wire Rib/ridge waveguide

waveguide

cladding

core

Step-index fiber Graded-index (GRIN) fiber

How does light propagate in a waveguide?
light

Question:
If we send light down a channel
waveguide, what are we gonna see
? at the waveguide output facet?

Kim knows the

answer, but
we don’t !

A B C D E
It is necessary to know the mode profile for
many important technical applications
 Bias applied via a pair of metal
contact pads across a LiNbO3
waveguide to induce phase
change of the light signal
(electro-optic effect)
 Small distance between
contact pads -> high electric
field -> larger phase shift
? Optical loss induced by metal
contacts
 Dependent on mode profile
What is a waveguide mode?
 A propagation mode of a waveguide at a given wavelength is a
stable shape in which the wave propagates.
 Waves in the form of such a mode of a given waveguide retain
exactly the same cross-sectional shape (complex amplitude) as
they move down the waveguide.
 Waveguide mode profiles are
wavelength dependent
 Waveguide modes at any given
wavelength are completely
determined by the cross-
sectional geometry and
refractive index profile of the
waveguide
Reading: Definition of Modes
1-d optical confinement: slab waveguide
1 ∂2
Wave equation: (∇ − 2 2 2 ) E = 0
2

n c 0 ∂t
with spatially non-uniform refractive index

y z TE: E-field parallel to substrate

Helmholtz equation:
2π / β
d2
z [ 2 + k 2 − β 2 ]U ( x ) = 0
dx
k = nk0 = nω/c
effective index
Propagation constant: β = neff k0
Propagation constant is related to
the wavelength (spatial periodicity) Field boundary conditions
of light propagating in the waveguide
Quantum mechanics =
? Guided wave optics
… The similarity between physical equations allows physicists to gain
understanding in fields besides their own area of expertise… -- R. P. Feynman

Quantum mechanics Guided wave optics

 1-d time-independent
Schrödinger equation
2 2
[ ∇ x − V + E ]ψ ( x ) = 0
2m
 ψ(x) : time-independent wave
function (time x-section)
 -V(x) : potential energy landscape
 -E : energy (eigenvalue)
 Time-dependent wave function
(energy eigenstate)
Ψ( x, t ) = ψ ( x ) ⋅ exp( −iEt )
 t : time evolution
 Helmholtz equation in a slab
waveguide
[∇2x + k02 n 2 − β 2 ]U ( x ) = 0
 U(x) : x-sectional optical mode
profile (complex amplitude)
 k02n(x)2 : x-sectional index profile
 β2 : propagation constant
 Electric field along z direction
(waveguide mode)
E ( x, z ) = U ( x ) ⋅ exp( iβz )
 z : wave propagation
1-d optical confinement problem re-examined
Helmholtz equation: Schrödinger equation:
1 2
[∇ + k n − β ]U ( x ) = 0
2 2 2 2 [− ∇ x + V − E ]ψ ( x ) = 0
x 0 2m
x V
nclad
V0
ncore
nclad
? E3
E2
n Vwell E1 x
nclad ncore
1-d potential well (particle in a well)
• Discretized propagation constant β
values • Discretized energy levels (states)
• Higher order mode with smaller β • Wave functions with higher
have more nodes (U = 0) energy have more nodes (ψ = 0)
• Larger waveguides with higher index • Deeper and wider potential wells
contrast supports more modes gives more bounded states
• Guided modes: nclad < neff < ncore • Bounded states: Vwell < E < V0
 short λ long λ
Confinement factor Г nclad

n
 Fraction of optical power confined core

in the waveguide core nclad

n cε ∫ ∫E dxdy
2
core 0

Γ = A See J. Robinson et al., submitted to Opt. Express (2008).

∫ ∫Re{E × H } ⋅ zˆdxdy
core
*

∞
 When the core is absorptive with an absorption
coefficient Kcore (imaginary part of refractive index)
 Waveguide loss due to absorption Kwaveguide = ΓKcore
 Higher order mode: smaller confinement factor
 Wavelength confinement factor Γ
Waveguide dispersion of slab modes
waveguide dispersion
short λ long λ
high ω low ω β = neff k0 = neff ω/c0

nclad ncore ω/c0

ncore
nclad ω/c0
nclad

 At long wavelength, effective index is small

 At short wavelength, effective index is large
Group velocity in waveguides
ncore ω/c0 Phase velocity vp: traveling speed
Low vg
of any given phase of the wave

nclad ω/c0
Group velocity vg: velocity of
wave packets (information)

dω c0 dω c0 ω
vg = Group index ng = = c0 neff = = c0
dβ vg dβ vp β
 Effective index: spatial periodicity (phase)
 Waveguide effective index is always smaller than core index
 Group index: information velocity (wave packet)
 In waveguides, group index can be greater than core index!
2-d confinement & effective index method
Channel waveguide Rib/ridge waveguide
 Directly solving 2-d
nclad Helmholtz equation for
nclad
U(x,y)
ncore ncore
 Deconvoluting the 2-d
nclad equation into two 1-d
problems
 Separation of variables
 Solve for U’(x) & U”(y)
 U(x,y) ~ U’(x) U”(y)
nclad neff,core nclad neff,clad neff,core neff,clad  Less accurate for high-
index-contrast
waveguide systems
y EIM mode solver:
x http://wwwhome.math.utwente.nl/~hammerm/eims.html
z http://wwwhome.math.utwente.nl/~hammer/eimsinout.html
Optical loss in waveguides
x Loss in silica fibers

Single-crystal
Silicon

Silicon oxide cladding

Silicon substrate

 Si material absorption (intrinsic

and impurity): kwaveguide = Γkcore
 Rayleigh scattering: surface &
sidewall roughness
 Core size ↑ scattering ↓
 Optical leakage into substrate
 Bond-vibrational absorption
 Impurity (e.g. O-H) absorption
 Rayleigh scattering: density
(refractive index) fluctuations
Optical loss in waveguides
x n
Unfortunately quantum tunneling
does not work for cars!
Single-crystal nSi
Silicon
nSiO2
Silicon oxide cladding
x
Silicon substrate
QM analogy
V
 Si material absorption (intrinsic
and impurity): Kwaveguide = ΓKcore
 Rayleigh scattering: surface &
sidewall roughness
x
 Core size ↑ scattering ↓
 Optical leakage into substrate Tunneling!
Coupling waveguides & supermode
x V
Anti-symmetric
WG 1 WG 2
Symmetric
x
Cladding
x
supermodes Modal overlap!

neff + Δn

neff - Δn
 Coupled mode theory http://
wwwhome.math.utwente.nl/~hammer/Wmm_M

Symmetric ≈ +
(U 1 + U 2 ) ⋅ exp[ikz ⋅ ( neff + ∆n )] U1 U2

Anti-symmetric ≈ +
(U1 − U 2 ) ⋅ exp[ ikz ⋅ ( neff − ∆n )] U1 − U 2 = U 2 exp( iπ )

If equal amplitude of symmetric and antisymmetric modes are launched,

coupled mode: (U1 + U 2 ) ⋅ exp[ikz ⋅ ( neff + β )] + (U1 − U 2 ) ⋅ exp[ikz ⋅ ( neff − β )]
z=0 z = π/2kΔn z = π/kΔn π/kΔn Beating length
2U1 2U2 exp(iπ/2Δn) 2U1 exp(iπ/Δn)

z
2
Waveguide directional coupler
Beating length π/kβ Symmetric Asymmetric waveguide
coupler directional coupler
r e wopl aci t p O

r e wopl aci t p O
Propagation distance Propagation distance

3dB direction
coupler

WG 1 WG 2

Cladding

10 log10 (0.5) ~ 3.0( dB )

Matrix representation
b1
b2
a2 b2
Linear
a1 device b1

a1 In a linear, unidirectional
a2 single-mode 4-port device,
the complex amplitude of input
& output light is correlated by:
Cascadability:
a = Ktotal b  a1   k11 k12  b1 
  =   
 a 2   k 21 k 22  b2 
Ktotal = KnKn − 1... K 1
a = Kb
a1 b1
Linear
device 1
Linear
device 2
… Linear
device n
a2 b2
Boundary conditions
Guided wave optics Quantum mechanics

• Continuity of wave function

• Continuity of the first order
derivative of wave function

Polarization dependent!

Core y
Cladding
x
Substrate z

 TE mode: Ez = 0, usually Ex >> Ey

 TM mode: Hz = 0, usually Ey >> Ex
Boundary conditions
Guided wave optics

Polarization dependent! TE mode profile

Core y
Cladding
x
Substrate z

 TE mode: Ez = 0, usually Ex >> Ey

 TM mode: Hz = 0, usually Ey >> Ex
 y
Ex amplitude y
of TE mode x
z

x Discontinuity
of field due to
boundary
condition!
Slot waveguide
Field concentration in low index material
y slot
Use low index material for:
x • Light emission
z • Light modulation
Cladding • Plasmonic waveguiding

Substrate V. Almeida et al., “Guiding and

confining light in void nanostructure,”
Opt. Lett. 29, 1209-1211 (2004).
TE mode profile