Polygonal Maxwell's fisheye lens via transformation optics as multimode waveguide crossing

TL;DR

This paper introduces polygonal Maxwell's fisheye lens-based multimode waveguide crossings designed via transformation optics, achieving low crosstalk and insertion loss, suitable for mode-division-multiplexing systems.

Contribution

It presents a novel design of multimode waveguide crossings using transformation optics to reduce crosstalk and leakage in MDM systems.

Findings

Intermodal crosstalk below -22dB at output ports

Insertion loss under 0.5dB across 415nm bandwidth

Compact footprint suitable for integrated photonics

Abstract

Multimode waveguide crossings are crucial components for novel mode-division-multiplexing systems. One of the challenges of multimode waveguide routing in MDM systems is decreasing the inter-mode crosstalk and mode leakage of waveguide crossings. In this work, we present the intersections of three and four waveguides based on polygonal Maxwell's fisheye lens via transformation optics. The designed lenses are implemented by mapping their refractive index to the thickness of guiding Si layer. The three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain simulations are used to evaluate the performance of the proposed $3\times3$ and $4\times4$ crossings. The footprint of the $3\times3$ and $4\times4$ waveguide star crossings are $18.6\times18.6$ and $27.5\times27.5$ $\mu m^2$, respectively. For both waveguide crossings, the intermodal crosstalk in the output port is lower than -22dB while the crosstalk to other ports is lower than -37dB for TE0, TE1, and TE2 modes. The insertion losses for these modes are lower than 0.5dB in a bandwidth of 415nm covering the whole optical telecommunication bands.