An introduction to silicon photonics

Abstract

This chapter introduces the reader to the technology of silicon photonics as well as provide some insight to waveguides and devices in general. The chapter leads the reader through the fundamentals of modes of an optical waveguide, propagation constants, reflection coefficients and electric field profiles. Both planar and rib waveguides are discussed in the context of modal properties, and the discussion of propagation constants leads on to the concept of effective index. The contributions of loss to optical waveguides are discussed together with ways to measure optical loss. Finally a series of fundamental devices that make up many optical circuits are described together with their operational characteristics. These notes have been adapted from [G.T. Reed, A.P. Knights, Silicon Photonics: An Introduction, Wiley, UK, January 2004, ISBN 0-470-87034-6] with the permission of John Wiley and Sons, UK.