(3+1)D-printed adiabatic 1-to-N broadband couplers

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel 3D-printed adiabatic broadband optical coupler with up to 4 outputs, demonstrating low loss and wide spectral range using scalable fabrication techniques.

Contribution

Introduction of a scalable 3D printing method for adiabatic 1-to-N broadband optical couplers with low loss and wide bandwidth.

Findings

Coupling losses below 0.06 dB achieved.

Operates from 520 nm to 980 nm, covering almost an octave.

Supports up to 4 output ports.

Abstract

We report single-mode 3D optical couplers leveraging adiabatic power transfer towards up to 4 output ports. We use the CMOS compatible additive (3+1)D \emph{flash}-TPP printing for fast and scalable fabrication. Coupling optical losses of such devices are reduced below $\sim$~0.06~dB by tailoring the coupling and waveguides geometry, and we demonstrate almost octave-spanning broadband functionality from 520~nm to 980~nm.