Characteristic analysis of a directional coupler in horizontal multiple-slotted silicon wires with slanted sidewalls

The characteristics of the directional couplers based on the horizontal multiple-slotted waveguides with slanted sidewalls are analyzed in detail by using a mode solver based on the full-vectorial finite element method with perfectly matched layers absorbing boundary conditions. The coupling length of the directional coupler as functions of the structural parameters including waveguide spacing, sidewalls angle, the thickness and refractive index of the slot regions, both in quasi-TE and quasi-TM modes, is obtained. The effective indexes and the field distributions of the even and odd modes also are presented. The numerical results show that polarization-independent directional couplers can be realized by properly choosing structural and material parameters.

► The modal behavior of the directional coupler is thoroughly investigated.
► The coupling length as functions of the structural parameters is obtained.
► The field distributions of the even and odd modes are presented.
► A series of polarization-independent directional couplers is realized.