Mode conversion in nanophotonic waveguides via symmetry breaking optomechanical near-field interactions

Dmitry A. Kozak; Marcel W. Pruessner; Todd H. Stievater; William S. Rabinovich

doi:10.1117/12.2544958

24 February 2020 Mode conversion in nanophotonic waveguides via symmetry breaking optomechanical near-field interactions

Dmitry A. Kozak, Marcel W. Pruessner, Todd H. Stievater, William S. Rabinovich

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 11297, Complex Light and Optical Forces XIV; 1129710 (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2544958
Event: SPIE OPTO, 2020, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

The need for ever-growing communications bandwidths has led to an interest in mode-division-multiplexed communications to increase the information carrying capacity of fiber-optic networks. More recently, mode-division multiplexed chip-scale photonic devices have been investigated as a means towards highly integrated photonic components and systems. To date, however, most chip-scale demonstrations have focused on fixed coupling and routing of individual waveguide modes on a chip. In this work we propose and investigate a new technique to dynamically couple and convert between different propagating waveguide modes via symmetry-breaking optomechanical near-field interactions. Silicon nitride waveguides (_tSi3N4=175 nm) with air top cladding are fabricated and enable propagation of weakly-confined modes with substantial evanescent field near the waveguide surface. Suspended silicon nitride (_tSiNx=200 nm) micro-electro-mechanical structures (MEMS) interact with the propagating mode’s evanescent field. However, the slight offset of the MEMS perturber with respect to the waveguide’s center axis leads to a symmetry breaking mode perturbation. This perturbation converts even propagating modes (e.g. TE₀) to higher-order odd modes (e.g. TE₁). We present various experimental techniques for characterizing the mode conversion including direct imaging, mode beating, and FFT spectrogram analysis. Simulation and experimental results demonstrate this new concept of using symmetry-breaking optomechanical near field interactions for mode coupling and conversion towards future mode-division multiplexing on a chip.

Citation Download Citation

Dmitry A. Kozak, Marcel W. Pruessner, Todd H. Stievater, and William S. Rabinovich "Mode conversion in nanophotonic waveguides via symmetry breaking optomechanical near-field interactions", Proc. SPIE 11297, Complex Light and Optical Forces XIV, 1129710 (24 February 2020); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2544958

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