Polarization independent processing in integrated photonics
AssigneesUniversiteit Gent, Imec Vzw
InventorsDries Van Thourhout, Andrea Trita
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Abstract
A photonic integrated circuit comprises an input interface adapted for receiving an optical input signal and splitting it into two distinct polarization modes and furthermore adapted for rotating the polarization of one of the modes for providing the splitted signals in a common polarization mode,. The PIC also comprises a combiner adapted for combining the first mode signal and the second mode signal into a combined signal and a decohering means adapted for transforming at least one of the first mode signal and the second mode signal such that the first mode signal and the second mode signal are received by the combiner in a mutually incoherent state. A processing component for receiving and processing said combined signal is also comprised.
Claims9
A photonic integrated circuit, comprising:
- an input interface configured for receiving an optical input signal and splitting the optical input signal into a first mode signal and a second mode signal respectively corresponding to two distinct polarization modes of the optical input signal,
- a rotator configured for rotating the polarization of at least one of the first mode signal and the second mode signal such as to provide the first mode signal and the second mode signal in a common polarization mode,
- a combiner configured for combining the first mode signal and the second mode signal into a combined signal,
- a processing component comprising a polarization dependent photonic integrated circuit for processing said combined signal,
- a decohering means configured for transforming at least one of the first mode signal and the second mode signal such that the first mode signal and the second mode signal are received by the combiner in a mutually incoherent state, the decohering means comprising a first and a second waveguide, at least one of the first and the second waveguide containing a delay line for inducing a difference in optical path length in the first and the second waveguide by at least a coherence length of the optical input signal,
- the combiner being configured for combining the first mode signal and the second mode signal by coupling the output of the first waveguide and the second waveguide into a waveguide for supplying the combination signal to the processing component.
A photonic integrated circuit, comprising:
- an input interface configured for receiving an optical input signal and splitting the optical input signal into a first mode signal and a second mode signal respectively corresponding to two distinct polarization modes of the optical input signal,
- a rotator configured for rotating the polarization of at least one of the first mode signal and the second mode signal such as to provide the first mode signal and the second mode signal in a common polarization mode,
- a combiner configured for combining the first mode signal and the second mode signal into a combined signal,
- a processing component comprising a polarization dependent photonic integrated circuit for processing said combined signal,
- a decohering means configured for transforming at least one of the first mode signal and the second mode signal such that the first mode signal and the second mode signal are received by the combiner in a mutually incoherent state, the decohering means comprising a first and a second waveguide, at least one of the first and the second waveguide containing a phase modulator configured for modulating the phase of one of the first mode signal and the second mode signal at a rate higher than a predetermined detection bandwidth for sampling an output signal provided by the processing component,
- the combiner being configured for combining the first mode signal and the second mode signal by coupling the output of the first waveguide and the second waveguide into a waveguide for supplying the combination signal to the processing component.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.