Nonvolatile reconfigurable polarization rotator at datacom wavelengths based on a Sb2Se3/Si waveguide

TL;DR

This paper introduces a compact, nonvolatile polarization rotator for silicon photonics operating at datacom wavelengths, utilizing a Sb2Se3/Si waveguide to achieve efficient, reconfigurable polarization control with zero static power.

Contribution

It demonstrates a novel reconfigurable polarization rotator based on Sb2Se3/Si waveguides that operates at 1310 nm with high efficiency and low power consumption.

Findings

Achieved polarization conversion efficiency of -0.08 dB.

Realized a polarization extinction ratio of 17.65 dB.

Device footprint is only 21 micrometers.

Abstract

Silicon photonics has become a key platform for photonic integrated circuits (PICs) due to its high refractive index and compatibility with complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor manufacturing. However, the inherent birefringence in silicon waveguides requires efficient polarization management. Here, we report a reconfigurable polarization rotator (PR) using a Sb2Se3/Si waveguide operating at datacom wavelengths (1310 nm), providing nonvolatile switching with zero static power consumption. The polarization conversion relies on the interference of hybrid electric-magnetic (EH) modes, which can be reconfigured by changing the Sb2Se3 state between amorphous and crystalline. Our experimental device exhibits a polarization conversion efficiency (PCE) and a polarization extinction ratio (PER) as high as -0.08 dB and 17.65 dB, respectively, in a compact footprint of just 21$\mu$m length. Therefore, the proposed reconfigurable PR offers a compact and energy-efficient solution for polarization management in silicon photonics, with potential applications in data communication networks and emerging applications benefiting from polarization information encodings, such as optical neural networks and quantum computing.