[OPTICAL REVIEW Vol. 17, No. 3 (2010) 181-186]
© 2010 The Japan Society of Applied Physics
Enhanced Vertical Confinement in Angled-Wall Slot Waveguides
Antti SÄYNÄTJOKI*, Benfeng BAI1,2, Ari TERVONEN, Jari TURUNEN1, and Seppo HONKANEN
Aalto University, School of Science and Technology, Department of Micro and Nanosciences, Micronova, Tietotie 3, FIN-02015 Espoo, Finland
1University of Eastern Finland, Department of Physics and Mathematics, FIN-80101 Joensuu, Finland
2Tsinghua University, Department of Precision Instruments, Beijing 100084, China
(Received September 4, 2009; Accepted February 6, 2010)
Optical confinement in slot waveguides with angled sidewalls is studied. Improved vertical optical confinement is observed. Different mode solvers are compared in the modeling of slot waveguides with varying sidewall angles. The finite element method was found best suitable for this task. The effect of the slot waveguide geometry on the vertical optical confinement is studied. The reduced effective mode area is beneficial in all-optical applications due to enhancement of nonlinear effects in the waveguide.
Key words: guided waves, integrated optics materials, waveguides, photonic integrated circuits, silicon-on-insulator
*E-mail address: antti.saynatjoki@tkk.fi