Phase coherence of optical waveguides

Author

Adar, R. ; Henry, C.H. ; Milbrodt, M.A. ; Kistler, R.C.

Author_Institution

AT&T Bell Labs., Murray Hill, NJ, USA

Volume

12

Issue

4

fYear

1994

fDate

4/1/1994 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

603

Lastpage

606

Abstract

The effective refractive index of real waveguides is not constant, but fluctuates as a result of variations in composition and waveguide dimensions. Consequently, the accumulated phase during propagation has a component that undergoes a random walk and whose mean square increases with length ⟨Δφ²⟩=2L/L_coh. These phase fluctuations result in wavelength fluctuations in Mach-Zehnder interferometers, especially in interferometers of low order. By measuring these fluctuations for Mach-Zehnder interferometers of different order, we have verified the above relation and determined that L_coh≈27 m for our phosphorus-doped core silica on silicon waveguides

Keywords

elemental semiconductors; light coherence; light interferometers; optical waveguide theory; phosphorus; refractive index; silicon; silicon compounds; Mach-Zehnder interferometer; Si; Si waveguides; SiO₂:P; accumulated phase; composition; effective refractive index; length; mean square; optical waveguides; phase coherence; phase fluctuations; propagation; random walk; waveguide dimensions; wavelength fluctuations; Coherence; Fluctuations; Mach-Zehnder interferometers; Optical interferometry; Optical propagation; Optical refraction; Optical variables control; Optical waveguides; Refractive index; Wavelength measurement;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Lightwave Technology, Journal of

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0733-8724

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/50.285352

Filename

285352