Integrated Photonic Polarization Synthesizer and Analyzer

TL;DR

This paper introduces a CMOS-compatible integrated photonic circuit capable of generating and analyzing arbitrary polarization states of light on-chip, enabling scalable, non-destructive polarization control for advanced photonic applications.

Contribution

The work presents the first integrated photonic platform that combines reconfigurable polarization generation and analysis, including on-chip Stokes measurement, in a scalable CMOS-compatible process.

Findings

Successfully demonstrated arbitrary polarization state generation on-chip.

Implemented non-destructive polarization analysis using integrated architecture.

Fabricated devices in a commercial foundry with CMOS-compatible processes.

Abstract

Polarization-resolved control and measurement of the optical field are essential for a wide range of photonic systems, including coherent communication, polarimetric sensing, and quantum information processing. We present a photonic integrated circuit that enables the generation and analysis of arbitrary polarization states. The device provides reconfigurable access to the full polarization degree of freedom of coherent light within a single integrated platform. We experimentally demonstrate arbitrary polarization state generation spanning the Poincare sphere, as well as Stokes vector measurement on chip. Unlike conventional Stokes measurements that rely on direct detection, polarization analysis utilizing this architecture is intrinsically non-destructive, preserving the optical signal for further optical domain processing. The devices are fabricated in a commercial foundry using CMOS-compatible processes, enabling scalable and reproducible integration. By combining polarization generation and analysis in a compact and stable photonic circuit, this work eliminates the need for external polarization optics and provides a foundation for robust, polarization-enabled photonic integrated systems.