Course Description :
Fundamentals of Light. Basics of guided waves; wave representation in a slab waveguide, TE and TM modes in a slab waveguide, phase velocity, mode chart, confinement factor, ray optics and electromagnetic theory interpretations. Silicon-on-insulator (SOI) photonics; SOI wafer, rib waveguides, modes of two-dimensional waveguides, effective index method (EIM) of analysis, generalized two-dimensional waveguide, mathematical analysis of HE and EH modes, beam trajectory, large single-mode rib, single-mode condition. Loss and coupling in SOI photonics; refractive index and loss coefficient in optical waveguides, coupling to the optical circuit, grating couplers, butt coupling and end-fire coupling, robust coupling to waveguides for commercial applications. Waveguide Design; material, types of waveguides, design methodology, ID slab waveguide, single-mode condition, wavelength dependence, 2D- and 3D-FDTD simulations, waveguide loss, bent waveguides, 3D-FDTD bend simulations. Directional couplers; model for mode coupling, perturbation to the refractive index, coupled-mode theory, coupling coefficient, approximate wavefunctions and propagation constants. Directional couplers design; coupling ratio and coupling coefficient, supermode analysis, waveguide mode solver approach, FDTD modeling. Periodic waveguides; coupled-mode equations, Bragg reflectors, grating couplers, coand contra-directional grating couplers, mode converters. More building blocks; Y-branch,MachZehnder interferometers (MZls), Mach-Zehnder modulators (MZMs), arrayed waveguide gratings (AWGs), Fabry-Perot filters, ring resonators. Optical input/output design; grating couplers, design methodology of grating couplers, analytic grating coupler design, design using 2D-FDTD simulations, compact design and focusing. Fabrication of silicon waveguide devices.
