Inversely Designed Silicon Nitride Power Splitters with Arbitrary Power Ratios

Abstract

An optical power splitter (OPS) with arbitrary splitting ratios has attracted significant research interest for its broad applications in photonic integrated circuits. A series of OPSs with arbitrary splitting ratios based on silicon nitride (Si3N4) platforms are presented. The devices are designed with ultra-compact dimensions using three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain (3D FDTD) analysis and an inverse design algorithm. Within a 50 nm bandwidth (1525 nm to 1575 nm), we demonstrated a 1 × 2 OPS with splitting ratios of 1:1, 1:1.5, and 1:2; a 1 × 3 OPS with ratios of 1:2:1 and 2:1:2; and a 1 × 4 OPS with ratios of 1:1:1:1 and 2:1:2:1. The target splitting ratios are achieved by optimizing pixel distributions in the coupling region. The dimensions of the designed devices are 1.96 × 1.96 µm2, 2.8 × 2.8 µm2, and 2.8 × 4.2 µm2, respectively. The designed devices achieve transmission efficiencies exceeding 90% and exhibit excellent power splitting ratios (PSRs).