MSEG 667

Nanophotonics: Materials and Devices

3: Guided Wave Optics

Prof. Juejun (JJ) Hu

hujuejun@udel.edu
Modes
“When asked, many well-trained scientists and
engineers will say that they understand what a
mode is, but will be unable to define the idea of
modes and will also be unable to remember
where they learned the idea!”

Quantum Mechanics for Scientists and Engineers

David A. B. Miller
Guided wave optics vs. multi-layers
Light
 Longitudinal variation of refractive H
indices L
H
 Refractive indices vary along the light L
propagation direction H
L
 Approach: transfer matrix method High-index
 Devices: DBRs, ARCs substrate

 Transverse variation of refractive

indices
 The index distribution is not a function
of z (light propagation direction)
 Approach: guided wave optics
 Devices: fibers, planar waveguides
Why is guided wave optics important?

 It is the very basis of numerous photonic devices

 Optical fibers, waveguides, traveling wave resonators, surface
plasmon polariton waveguides, waveguide modulators…
 Fiber optics
The masters of light
“If we were to unravel all of the glass fibers
that wind around the globe, we would get a
single thread over one billion kilometers long
– which is enough to encircle the globe more
than 25 000 times – and is increasing by
thousands of kilometers every hour.”
-- 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics
Press Release
Waveguide geometries and terminologies
2-d optical confinement
1-d optical confinement

cladding nlow core nlow nlow

core nhigh nhigh nhigh

cladding nlow cladding nlow

Slab waveguide Channel/photonic wire Rib/ridge waveguide

waveguide

cladding

core

Step-index fiber Graded-index (GRIN) fiber

How does light propagate in a waveguide?
light

Question:
If we send light down a channel
waveguide, what are we going to
? see at the waveguide output facet?

JJ knows the
answer, but
we don’t !

A B C D E
What is a waveguide mode?
 A propagation mode of a waveguide at a given wavelength is a
stable shape in which the wave propagates.
 Waves in the form of such a mode of a given waveguide retain
exactly the same cross-sectional shape (complex amplitude) as
they move down the waveguide.
 Waveguide mode profiles are
wavelength dependent
 Waveguide modes at any given
wavelength are completely
determined by the cross-
sectional geometry and
refractive index profile of the
waveguide
Reading: Definition of Modes
1-d optical confinement: slab waveguide
� 2 n2 �2
�
� 2 2�
Wave equation: � E0
� c0 �
t �
with spatially non-uniform refractive index

x E y ( x, z , t )  U ( x ) �
ei  z �
e  iwt

y z TE: E-field parallel to substrate

Helmholtz equation:
2 / 
d2
z [ 2  k 2   2 ]U ( x )  0
dx
k = nk0 = nω/c
effective index
Propagation constant: β = neff k0
Propagation constant is related to
the wavelength (spatial periodicity) Field boundary conditions
of light propagating in the waveguide
Quantum mechanics =
? Guided wave optics
… The similarity between physical equations allows physicists to gain
understandings in fields besides their own area of expertise… -- R. P. Feynman

Guided wave optics

Quantum
mechanics

"According to the
experiment, grad
students exist in
a state of both
productivity and
unproductivity."
-- Ph.D. Comics
Quantum mechanics =
? Guided wave optics
… The similarity between physical equations allows physicists to gain
understandings in fields besides their own area of expertise… -- R. P. Feynman

Quantum mechanics Guided wave optics

 1-d time-independent
Schrödinger equation
2 2
[  x  V  E ] ( x )  0
2m
 ψ(x) : time-independent wave
function (time x-section)
 -V(x) : potential energy landscape
 -E : energy (eigenvalue)
 Time-dependent wave function
(energy eigenstate)
 ( x, t )   ( x )  exp( iEt )
 t : time evolution
 Helmholtz equation in a slab
waveguide
[2x  k02 n 2   2 ]U ( x )  0
 U(x) : x-sectional optical mode
profile (complex amplitude)
 k02n(x)2 : x-sectional index profile
 β2 : propagation constant
 Electric field along z direction
(waveguide mode)
E ( x, z )  U ( x )  exp(iz )
 z : wave propagation
1-d optical confinement problem re-examined
Helmholtz equation: Schrödinger equation:
1 2
[2x  k02n 2   2 ]U ( x )  0 [  x  V  E ] ( x )  0
2m
x V
nclad
ncore ? V0
E3
nclad E2
n Vwell E1 x
nclad ncore

• Discretized propagation constant β 1-d potential well (particle in a well)

values
• Higher order mode with smaller β
have more nodes (U = 0)
• Larger waveguides with higher index
contrast supports more modes
• Guided modes: nclad < neff < ncore
• Discretized energy levels (states)
• Wave functions with higher
energy have more nodes (ψ = 0)
• Deeper and wider potential wells
gives more bounded states
• Bounded states: Vwell < E < V0
Waveguide dispersion
waveguide dispersion
short λ long λ
high ω low ω β = neff k0 = neff ω/c0

nclad ncoreω/c0
ncore
ncladω/c0
nclad

 At long wavelength, effective index is small

(QM analogy: reduced potential well depth)
 At short wavelength, effective index is large
Group velocity in waveguides
Phase velocity vp: traveling speed
ncoreω/c0
Low vg of any given phase of the wave

ncladω/c0
Group velocity vg: velocity of
wave packets (information)

dw c0 dw c0 w
vg  Group index ng   c0 neff   c0
d vg d vp 
 Effective index: spatial periodicity (phase)
 Waveguide effective index is always smaller than core index
 Group index: information velocity (wave packet)
 In waveguides, group index can be greater than core index!
2-d confinement & effective index method
Channel waveguide Rib/ridge waveguide  Directly solving 2-d
nclad Helmholtz equation for
nclad
U(x,y)
ncore ncore  Deconvoluting the 2-d
nclad equation into two 1-d
problems
 Separation of variables
 Solve for U’(x) & U”(y)
 U(x,y) ~ U’(x) U”(y)
nclad neff,core nclad neff,clad neff,core neff,clad  Less accurate for high-
index-contrast
waveguide systems
y EIM mode solver:
x http://wwwhome.math.utwente.nl/~hammerm/eims.html
z http://wwwhome.math.utwente.nl/~hammer/eimsinout.html
Coupled waveguides and supermode

x V
Anti-symmetric
WG 1 WG 2
Symmetric
x
Cladding
x
supermodes Modal overlap!

neff + Δn

neff - Δn
 http://wwwhome.math.utwente.nl
Coupled mode theory /~hammer/Wmm_Manual/cmt.html

Symmetric ≈ +
(U 1  U 2 )  exp[ikz  ( neff  n )] U1 U2

Anti-symmetric ≈ +
(U1  U 2 )  exp[ikz  ( neff  n )] U1  U 2  U 2 exp(i )

If equal amplitude of symmetric and antisymmetric modes are launched,

coupled mode: (U1  U 2 )  exp[ikz  ( neff   )]  (U1  U 2 )  exp[ikz  ( neff   )]
z=0 z = π/2kΔn z = π/kΔn π/kΔn Beating length
2U1 2U2 exp(iπ/2Δn) 2U1 exp(iπ/Δn)

z
2
Waveguide directional coupler
Beating length π/kβ Symmetric Asymmetric waveguide
coupler directional coupler

Optical power
Optical power

Propagation distance Propagation distance

3dB direction
coupler

WG 1 WG 2

Cladding

10 log10 (0.5) ~ 3.0( dB )

Optical loss in waveguides
 Material attenuation
 Electronic absorption (band-to-band transition)
 Bond vibrational (phonon) absorption
 Impurity absorption
 Semiconductors: free carrier absorption (FCA)
 Glasses: Rayleigh scattering, Urbach band tail states
 Roughness scattering
 Planar waveguides: line edge roughness due to imperfect
lithography and pattern transfer
 Fibers: frozen-in surface capillary waves
 Optical leakage
 Bending loss
 Substrate leakage
Waveguide confinement factor
core
Consider the following scenario:
A waveguide consists of an absorptive core cladding
with an absorption coefficient acore and an non-
absorptive cladding. How do the mode profile E
evolve when it propagate along the guide?
exp ( a wg z )
E ( x, y )  exp ( i  r z  iwt ) �

Modal attenuation
a wg  G corea core x
coefficient: Propagation
2
ncore c0e 0 �
�E dxdy E
Confinement
G core  core
?
factor: ( ) $ dxdy
�
�Re
�
E �H * ��
z

J. Robinson, K. Preston, O. Painter, M. Lipson, "First-principle derivation

of gain in high-index-contrast waveguides," Opt. Express 16, 16659 x
(2008).
Absorption in silica (glass) and silicon (semiconductor)
 Short wavelength edge:  Short wavelength edge:
Rayleigh scattering (density band-to-band transition
fluctuation in glasses)  Long wavelength edge: Si-Si
 Long wavelength edge: Si-O phonon absorption
bond phonon absorption  Other mechanisms: FCA,
 Other mechanisms: oxygen impurities (the
impurities, band tail states arrows below)
Roughness scattering
 Origin of roughness:
 Planar waveguides: line edge roughness evolution in processing
T. Barwicz and H. Smith, “Evolution of line-edge roughness during fabrication of high-
index-contrast microphotonic devices,” J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 21, 2892-2896 (2003).
 Fibers: frozen-in capillary waves due to energy equi-partition
P. Roberts et al., “Ultimate low loss of hollow-core photonic crystal fibres,” Opt.
Express 13, 236-244 (2005).
 QM analogy: time-dependent perturbation
 Modeling of scattering loss
 High-index-contrast waveguides suffer from high scattering loss
F. Payne and J. Lacey, “A theoretical analysis of scattering loss from planar optical
waveguides,” Opt. Quantum Electron. 26, 977 (1994).
S. Johnson et al., “Roughness losses and volume-current methods in photonic-
crystal waveguides,” Appl. Phys. B 81, 283-293 (2005).

a wg , s �( ncore 2  nclad 2 ) �
s2 where s is the RMS roughness
Optical leakage loss
n
x
Single-crystal nSi
Silicon
nSiO2
Silicon oxide cladding
Silicon substrate x
QM analogy
V

Tunneling!

Unfortunately quantum tunneling

does not work for cars!
Boundary conditions
Guided wave optics Quantum mechanics

• Continuity of wave function

• Continuity of the first order
derivative of wave function

Polarization dependent!

Core y
Cladding
x
Substrate z

 TE mode: Ez = 0 (slab), Ex >> Ey (channel)

 TM mode: Hz = 0 (slab), Ey >> Ex (channel)
Boundary conditions
Guided wave optics

Polarization dependent! TE mode profile

Core y
Cladding
x
Substrate z

 TE mode: Ez = 0 (slab), Ex >> Ey (channel)

 TM mode: Hz = 0 (slab), Ey >> Ex (channel)
 y
Ex amplitude y
of TE mode x
z

x Discontinuity
of field due to
boundary
condition!
Slot waveguides
Field concentration in low index material

y slot
Use low index material for:
x • Light emission
z • Light modulation
Cladding • Plasmonic waveguiding

Substrate V. Almeida et al., “Guiding and

confining light in void nanostructure,”
Opt. Lett. 29, 1209-1211 (2004).
TE mode profile