Polarization-Insensitive Operation of Lithium Niobate Mach–Zehnder Interferometer With Silica PLC-Based Polarization Diversity Circuit

Author

Suzuki, Kenya ; Yamada, Takashi ; Moriwaki, Osamu ; Takahashi, Hiroshi ; Okuno, Masayuki

Author_Institution

NTT Corp., Atsugi

Volume

20

Issue

10

fYear

2008

fDate

5/15/2008 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

773

Lastpage

775

Abstract

We demonstrate the polarization-insensitive operation of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI)-based lithium niobate switch with a silica waveguide polarization beam splitter. The splitter is composed of an MZI with a half wave plate installed in one arm, and exhibits a polarization extinction ratio of more than 15 dB. The switch functions for both polarizations with an extinction ratio of more than 20 dB, a polarization-dependent loss of 0.1 dB and a switching speed of 40 ps.

Keywords

Mach-Zehnder interferometers; integrated optics; lithium compounds; optical beam splitters; silicon compounds; LiNbO₃; Mach-Zehnder interferometer; SiO₂; integrated optics; optical switch; phase shifter; planar lightwave circuit; polarization diversity circuit; polarization insensitive operation; waveguide polarization beam splitter; Circuits; Interferometric lithography; Lithium niobate; Optical fiber networks; Optical polarization; Optical switches; Phase shifters; Phased arrays; Programmable control; Silicon compounds; Integrated optics; lithium niobate (LN) phase shifter; optical switch; polarization beam splitter; silica-based planar lightwave circuit (PLC);

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

1041-1135

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/LPT.2008.921109

Filename

4490025