High Contrast Nulling in Photonic Meshes Through Architectural Redundancy

TL;DR

This paper introduces a silicon photonic architecture using Double Mach-Zehnder Interferometers to achieve high-contrast nulling exceeding 80 dB, improving photonic integrated circuit performance for sensitive applications.

Contribution

It presents a novel mesh design with systematic configuration algorithms that compensate for fabrication imperfections and non-idealities, enabling high-contrast nulling in photonic circuits.

Findings

Achieved nulling contrast over 80 dB in silicon photonic circuits.

Demonstrated effective compensation for fabrication imperfections.

Validated high-contrast nulling for astronomical sensing applications.

Abstract

We demonstrate a silicon photonic architecture comprised of Double Mach-Zehnder Interferometers (DMZIs) designed for high-contrast photonic applications. This configuration significantly enhances the achievable extinction ratio of photonic integrated circuits (PICs), reaching levels exceeding 80 dB. By leveraging the tunable properties of DMZIs and implementing a systematic configuration algorithm, the proposed mesh effectively compensates for fabrication imperfections and mitigates non-idealities such as back reflections. Experimental validation on a silicon-on-insulator platform demonstrates the potential of this approach for applications requiring high contrast nulling such as astronomical sensing.