2023/04/28 by David González-Andrade, David González‐Andrade, Irene Olivares +5 · 1 citation
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Microwave Engineering and Waveguides #Photonic Crystals and Applications #Photonic and Optical Devices
paper · doi:10.1016/j.optlastec.2023.109513
openalex publication_date 2023/04/28 · crossref created 2023/04/28 · crossref issued 2023/09/01 · crossref published 2023/09/01 · crossref published-print 2023/09/01 · crossref deposited 2025/09/21 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · crossref indexed 2026/07/31 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04
Mode-division multiplexing has emerged as a promising route for increasing transmission capacity while maintaining the same level of on-chip integration. Despite the large number of on-chip mode converters and multiplexers reported for the silicon-on-insulator platform, scaling the number of multiplexed modes is still a critical challenge. In this paper, we present a novel three-mode architecture based on multimode interference couplers, passive phase shifters and cascaded symmetric Y-junctions. This architecture can readily operate up to the third-order mode by including a single switchable phase shifter. Moreover, we exploit subwavelength grating metamaterials to overcome bandwidth limitations of multimode interference couplers and phase shifters, resulting in a simulated bandwidth of 161 nm with insertion loss and crosstalk below 1.18 dB and −20 dB, respectively.