Optimization of Ridge Waveguide Structure for Temperature Sensor Application Using Finite Difference Method

Abstract

This work presents optimization of the dimension of ridge waveguide structure to be used as temperature sensor. The objective of the work is to obtain an optimum dimension of ridge waveguide so that it provides high sensitivity to temperature. Ridge waveguide structure was chosen since it has strong light confinement and low bending loss. The optimization was done by simulating the temperature distribution and electric field distribution inside the waveguide using Finite Difference Method (FDM). The simulations were done for various waveguide width and waveguide thickness. The results showed that as the width increased, the sensitivity decreased. The optimum ranges of waveguide dimensions are between 10μm to 20μm and 15μm to 25μm for width and thickness, respectively.