Design and manufacturing of optical multimode interference device based on a silicon photonic integrated circuit

Abstract

Photonic chips will gradually replace electronic chips in several specialized fields due to their advantages, including broadband, high speed, and compatibility with current electronic chip manufacturing technologies. Researching and selecting typical essential components to build photonic chips is extremely important. The multimode interference component based on silicon material is undergoing a thorough investigation and standardization process to be added to the industrial production library. In this paper, we propose a new property of the multimode interferer MMI 4x4, which simultaneously transmits two signals in the same phase or opposite phase at the inputs to perform switching in the same direction or opposite direction at the output on the same silicon photonic integrated circuit. This result will extend to developing optical signal switchers, routers, splitters, or couplers for more complex functional circuits. We have achieved similar results between theoretical calculation, simulation, and manufacturing.