Three-Mode Photonic Lanterns: Comprehensive Analysis from Theory to Experiments

TL;DR

This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of three-mode photonic lanterns, combining theoretical modeling and experimental validation to understand their design space, characteristics, and performance for various configurations.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed comparison between theoretical models and experimental results for all four types of 3x1 photonic lanterns, advancing understanding of their design and performance.

Findings

Experimental characteristics of each lantern type are highlighted.

Theoretical models effectively predict experimental outcomes.

Design insights for optimizing photonic lantern performance.

Abstract

The design space for photonic lanterns is large and complex, making it challenging to identify optimal parameters to achieve specific performances, such as coupling, bandwidth, and insertion loss. Effectively navigating this space requires modeling tools capable to extract the most characterizing parameters. This work contrasts theoretical modeling with experimental realizations of the four possible types of $3\times1$ photonic lanterns using double-clad fibers, covering a spectrum from conventional to hybrid to mode-specific configurations. This work highlights the experimental characteristics of each photonic lantern.