Planar Waveguides

Michael Moewe
EE290F, Professor Kaminow
March 2nd, 2004
Contents
 Planar Waveguides
 Overview
 Uses
 Infinitely wide planar waveguide theory
 Maxwells Equations in Slab Waveguide
 Simplifcation of Maxwell’s Equations
 TE and TM Mode
 Wavenumbers & Boundary Conditions
 Dispersion Curves
 Power Carried in Waveguide
 Rectangular Waveguides
 Marcatili’s method of solving & E-field distribution
 Kumar’s method
Planar Waveguides: Overview
 Similar function as optical fibers
 Easily fabricated on substrates with a
mask

Image from NTT-AT (http://www.keytech.ntt-at.co.jp/optic2/prd_e0015.html)

 Uses for planar waveguides
 Routing Light
 Devices
 Modulators
 Erbium Doped Planar Waveguide Amplifiers
(EDWA) (with curved guides)
 Resonators

http://www.netzartfedorov.com/clients/nanonics/newnanon/text-industry.html http://www.ee.ic.ac.uk/optical/Optics.html
Maxwells Equations in Slab
Waveguide
 Maxwell’s Equations

 Simplifications
Simplifcation of Maxwell’s
Equations
Substituting into
Maxwell’s Equations
TE and TM Mode
 TE/TM Mode, No y-axis dependency
(and )
TE Mode TM Mode
Wavenumbers
 Fields are confined to core, so:

 With wavenumbers:
Boundary Conditions
 Hz components continuous at
boundaries, so based on previous eq:

 Continuity of these boundaries gives:

Substitutions
 Substitution:

 Gives the relations:

Dispersion Curves for TE and
TM modes
 Dispersion Curves
Power Carried in Waveguide
 Power Equation

 Simplifies to (for TE mode):

Rectangular Waveguides
(Marcatili’s method)
(Assumed no field in corner areas)
Electric Field Distributions in
Rectangular Waveguides
 Marcatili’s Method: (assumes no field in
corners of waveguide)
Kumar’s method for
Rectangular Waveguides
Finite Field in
Corners
References
 Okamoto K. 2000 Fundamentals of Optical Waveguides (San
Diego, CA: Academic)
 Prototype trial manufacture of polymer optical waveguide. 2
Mar. 2004. NTT-AT.
http://www.keytech.ntt-at.co.jp/optic2/prd_e0015.html
 Nanonics – Industry Applications. 2 Mar. 2004. Nanonics.
http://www.netzartfedorov.com/clients/nanonics/newnanon/text
-industry.html
 Syms R., Tate T., Syahriar A. Waveguide Devices by Electron
Beam Irradiation of Silica. 2 Mar 2004. Imperial College of
Science, Technology & Medicine.
http://www.ee.ic.ac.uk/optical/Optics.html