Subwavelength waveguide structures for optical interconnects

We report our advances in development of subwavelength engineered waveguide structures. This unique NRC patented technology [1,2] allows synthesis of a metamaterial with an unprecedented control of material properties, constituting a powerful tool for a designer of photonic integrated circuits. We have demonstrated a number of subwavelength engineered devices operating at telecom wavelengths [3–7], for example fibre-chip couplers, waveguide crossings, WDM multiplexers, ultra-fast optical switches, athermal waveguides, evanescent field sensors, polarization rotators, transceiver hybrids and ultra-broadband interference couplers. The subwavelength metamaterial concept has been adopted by industry (IBM) for fibre-chip coupling and subwavelength structures are likely to become key building blocks for the next generation of integrated photonic circuits. Here we present an overview of recent examples of our subwavelength engineered structures, with an emphasis on couplers for optical interconnects and evanescent field sensors. We demonstrate an unprecedented control over the light coupling between optical fibers and silicon chips by constructing metamaterial couplers operating at telecom (1.55 µm) and datacom (1.3 µm) wavelengths. We also show that by subwavelength patterning of silicon-wire waveguides the field delocalization can be engineered to increase the sensitivity of evanescent field waveguide sensors [8]. Finally, we discuss some emerging applications of subwavelength engineered structures in mid-infrared photonics.