IEEE JOURNAL OF QUANTUM ELECTRONICS, VOL. 53, NO.

2, FEBRUARY 2017 6600108

Reflection and Transmission Spectra of Multimode

Interference Devices With Bragg Gratings
Kazuhiko Ogusu, Life Member, IEEE

Abstract— We numerically investigate the reflection and reflecting couplers [4], [5] in all-fiber scheme have already
transmission spectra of multimode interference (MMI) devices been proposed as add-drop multiplexers (ADMs) for WDM
incorporating uniform and sampled Bragg gratings with empha- transmissions. Planar directional couplers with a Bragg grating
sis on their applications to an add-drop multiplexer (ADM).
In numerical analysis, a rectangular index modulation is assumed have also been investigated for photonic integrated circuits
as the grating and a 2 × 2 MMI device is treated to operate as a theoretically and experimentally [6]–[11]. Although single
nearly two-mode interference (TMI) device, which is frequently mode waveguides are usually used in these devices, [11]
used as an alternative to conventional directional couplers that exceptionally treats multimode grating-assisted directional
have a disadvantage of large size. Although the first two guided couplers.
modes are used in the TMI device, it is especially important to
overlap their reflection bands. Therefore, a design method for In view of the above-mentioned advantages, MMI couplers
attaining a sufficient overlap and some considerations are given. with a Brag grating have already been proposed [12]–[15].
The spectral response of the TMI device with a uniform Bragg The properties of these MMI devices were investigated
grating is analyzed by a combination of the mode-propagation by using the mode-propagation analysis (MPA), the cou-
method and the transfer-matrix method and discussed on the pled mode theory (CMT), the bi-directional beam propaga-
basis of the state of overlap. In the case of a sampled Bragg
grating, it is found that although many modes are excited tion method (BPM), and the finite-difference time-domain
in the MMI section, multiple reflection bands (multi-channel) method (FDTD). The MPA in [12] and [14] needs known
are created as expected. The treated device can be applied to reflection coefficients of guided modes at the input end of
single- and multi-channel ADMs. the grating section. However an analytical expression of the
Index Terms— Multimode interference devices, Bragg gratings, reflection coefficient is available for only a uniform Bragg
transmission and reflection spectra, integrated optics. grating with a sinusoidal index modulation [16]. Although
the ADM by grating-induced dispersion has been investigated
I. I NTRODUCTION using the CMT in [13], it is assumed that the overlap of
the stopbands (reflection bands) does not take place. However
M ULTIMODE interference (MMI) devices [1] have been
widely used in integrated optics and fiber optics for
many applications such as the coupling, splitting, and com-
stopbands of guided modes in the multimode Bragg gratings
frequently overlap. Moreover it is not very efficient to use
numerical methods such as BPM [14] and FDTD [15] for
bining of optical beams. The operation of the devices is
investigating the spectral response of the device. Especially the
based on spatial self-imaging effects in a multimode (MM)
FDTD method requires enormous computer times and memory
waveguide and the devices have advantages such as compact
for large devices. Although the spectral response of the devices
size, low loss, easy fabrication, and large fabrication tolerance.
is important in their design and operation, it has not been fully
Although the MM waveguide supports a large number of
investigated.
guided modes (typically more than three modes), nearly two-
In this paper, with the application to ADMs in mind, we
mode interference (TMI) couplers are frequently used as an
investigate theoretically the reflection and transmission spectra
alternative to conventional directional couplers that have a
of 2×2 MMI devices with uniform and sampled Bragg grat-
disadvantage of large size.
ings. A quasi-TMI coupler and the grating formed by a peri-
On the other hand, Bragg gratings have been incorporated
odic rectangular modulation, i.e., multiple thin layers of two
into passive devices such as directional couplers and active
different optical materials are treated in the numerical analysis
devices such as semiconductor lasers to make them wave-
based on the MPA [1]. The propagation of each guided mode
length selective or to improve their properties and functions.
through the layered MM waveguide is formulated using the
Directional couplers with a Bragg grating were first proposed
transfer-matrix method (TMM) [17], [18]. Although the Bragg
for wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) filters more than
wavelength, i.e., the wavelength of maximum reflection differs
30 years ago [2]. Grating-frustrated couplers [3] and Bragg
among different guided modes in MM Bragg gratings, their
Manuscript received September 5, 2016; revised October 28, 2016 and reflection bands can overlap each other (especially, for the
November 11, 2016; accepted November 17, 2016. Date of publication first two guided modes) since large bandwidths are created
December 15, 2016; date of current version January 12, 2017.
K. Ogusu was with Shizuoka University, Hamamatsu 432-8011, Japan. He is in short and strong gratings. The spectral response calculated
now with the Ogusu Nora Laboratory, Hamamatsu 432-8056, Japan (e-mail: for a uniform Bragg grating is discussed as the overlap of
[email protected]). the two reflection bands. To develop a multi-channel ADM,
Color versions of one or more of the figures in this paper are available
online at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org. for the first time to our knowledge, the spectral response for
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/JQE.2016.2640222 a sampled Bragg grating [19] is examined. It is found that
0018-9197 © 2016 IEEE. Personal use is permitted, but republication/redistribution requires IEEE permission.
See http://www.ieee.org/publications_standards/publications/rights/index.html for more information.

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6600108 IEEE JOURNAL OF QUANTUM ELECTRONICS, VOL. 53, NO. 2, FEBRUARY 2017

A. Coupling of Light Into and Out of the MMI Device

We describe the coupling to the MMI device and define
the reflectance and transmittance to output waveguides. First,
it is assumed that the fundamental TE0 mode operating at
angular frequency ω is incident on input port 1. The incident
transverse field E in (x) at the input end (z = 0) excites a finite
number of guided modes and radiation modes with continuous
spectrum inside the front MT section. Since the radiation
modes contribute to radiation loss, we pay attention to guided
modes only as [1]

M−1 (1)
βv z
E in (x) = av(1)(0)Fv(1) (x)e− j |z=0 , (1)
v=0
(1) (1)
Fig. 1. Schematic of a 2×2 MMI device with a uniform Bragg grating and
where βv and Fv (x) are the propagation constant and the
the expanded nth unit cell. transverse modal field of the vth order mode, respectively. M is
the number of guided modes and typically more than three.
The superscript (1) stands for a quantity related to a guiding
when the overlap of the reflection bands for the two guided section of refractive index n 1 . In our case, the transverse modal
(1)
modes is not sufficient, each of the created multiple reflection fields E in (x) and Fv (x) are normalized so that the power
bands is splitted into two peaks. We can overcome the issue flow in the z direction per unit length in the y direction may
by increasing the width of the MMI section. It is found that become unity. The modal amplitude av(1)(0) at z = 0 is given
the ADM function can be achieved by such a way although by the overlap integral of vth mode profile Fv(1) (x) and the
it degrades somewhat owing to the presence of many guided input field profile E in (x) as follows:
∞ (1)
−∞ E in (x)Fv (x)d x
modes. The treated device can be applied to single- and multi-
channel ADMs. Cv =   , (2)
∞ 2 d x ∞ {F (1) (x)}2 d x
−∞ {E in (x)} −∞ v

av(1)(0) = Cv , (3)
II. T HEORY
where Cv is the excitation coefficient of the vth mode. Since
In this section, we present a method for calculating the Cv is real as seen from (2), each guided mode is always
reflection and transmission properties of MMI devices with excited in phase or out of phase relative to the input field.
Bragg gratings under continuous wave excitation. A 2×2 MMI Since the fraction
 of the power carried by all the guided modes
is given by M−1 C 2 , the excitation loss due to radiation is
device to be investigated is schematically shown in Fig. 1,  v=0 v
where four input/output single-mode waveguides of width d 1− M−1 2
v=0 Cv .
are symmetrically connected to a MM waveguide of width The excited guided modes propagate through the grating
W and length L F + L G + L B . The MM waveguide consists section while undergoing a series of reflections at every
of a grating section of length L G and two mode-transition interface. Therefore there are both forward and backward
(MT) sections of lengths L F and L B without grating. The guided modes in every section except for the back MT section.
core region of the input/output waveguides and the MM It should be noted that the excitation coefficients at other ports
waveguides of the MT sections has a refractive index n 1 and are related to those at port 1. Considering that the input/output
is surrounding on each side by cladding with a low refractive waveguides are symmetrically located with respect to x and
index n 0 . In our case, the grating is formed by a periodic that the guided modes have even and odd symmetries, we have
rectangular modulation of the guiding region. It may also be Cv : C0 , C1 , C2 , C3 , . . . at ports 1 and 3,
considered to consist of multiple thin layers of thicknesses Cv : C0 , −C1 , C2 , −C3 , . . . at ports 2 and 4.
a and b and refractive indices n 1 and n 2 , respectively. The
period of the grating is  = a + b and the refractive index Next, we describe how to calculate the reflectance and
difference n = n 2 –n 1 means the depth of refractive index transmittance at each port. The total electric field E y (x, L F +
modulation. In the MMI device with a uniform Bragg grating, L G + L B ) of the transmitted wave at the output end (z =
the relative output powers from two ports 1 and 2 (3 and 4) L F + L G + L B ) of the back MT section and the total field
can be changed by changing the length of TM section L F (L B ). E y (x, 0) of the reflected wave at the input end (z =0) are
In this work, we consider the propagation of TE waves in expressed as a superposition of all the related guided modes.
the xz-plane under a two-dimensional (2-D) model since the 
M−1
3-D waveguide structure can be approximately replaced by E y (x, L T ) = av(1) (L T )Fv(1) (x) , (4)
the 2-D structure using the equivalent index method. Moreover v=0
we treat a nearly TMI coupler, where TE0 and TE1 modes are 
M−1
excited at the same level by appropriately setting the position E y (x, 0) = bv(1) (0)Fv(1) (x) , (5)
of the input waveguide x c . v=0

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OGUSU: REFLECTION AND TRANSMISSION SPECTRA OF MMI DEVICES WITH BRAGG GRATINGS 6600108

where L T = L F + L G + L B is the total length of the and z = L F +(n −2)+b. Note that the subscript v is dropped
(1) (1)
device. av (L T ) and bv (0) are the complex amplitude of from these complex amplitudes for simplicity.
forward- and backward-propagating vth order modes at the After some mathematical manipulation, we have the follow-
output and input ends after propagation of initially excited ing matrix equation for each of N unit cells:
av(1)(0), respectively. The detail of the calculation will be
 (1)

 (1)

explained in the following subsection. an−1 an
A n Bn
If the total field profiles at the input and output ends are (1)
= η1 η2 (1)
, (7)
bn−1 C n Dn bn
given, we can calculate analytically the fraction of the input
power at each of the four output ports with overlap integrals n = 2, 3, . . . , N + 1
such as (2). The reflectance Ri at port i (=1 and 2) and the
transmittance
 Ti at port i (= 2 R 1 =
3 and 4) are given by where
 M−1 (1) 2  M−1 (1) 
 v=0 Cv bv (0) , R2 =  v=0 (−1) C v bv (0) , T3 =
v
∞
 2  2 (1)
Fv (x)Fv (x) d x
(2)
 M−1 (1)   M−1  −∞
 v=0 Cv av (L T ) , and T4 =  v=0 (−1)v Cv av(1) (L T ) . ηα =  ∞  (α) 2 , α = 1, 2 (8)
Note that R1 + R2 + T3 + T4 = 1 in the present case. −∞ Fv (x) d x
 (2) (1)
 
(1)
(2) j βv βv (2)
B. Transfer-Matrix Method An = e jβv a
cos (βv b) + + (2) sin(βv b) ,
2 βv(1) βv
Before adopting the TMM [17], [18] to the propagation (9.1)
problem in layered media, we describe the assumption used  (2) (1)
 
(1)
− jβv a j βv βv (2)
in this work and its validity. In this work, we assume that Bn = e − (2) sin(βv b) ,
coupling between different guided modes does not take place. 2 βv(1) βv
The transmission coefficient from the TEm mode in the region (9.2)
  
(α = 1) with the core index n 1 to the TEl mode in the −j βv
(2)
βv
(1)
jβv(1) a
region (α =2) with the core index n 2 is proportional to the Cn = e (1)
− (2)
sin(βv(2) b) ,
overlap integral of Fm(1) (x)Fl(2) (x) in analogy with (2). There
2 βv βv
(9.3)
is always no coupling between even and odd modes (e.g.,  (2) (1)
 
TE0 and TE1 ) because of the symmetric waveguide structure. (1)
− jβv a j βv βv
Dn = e cos (βv(2) b) − (1)
+ (2)
sin(βv(2) b) ,
Moreover, both coupling between even modes (e.g., TE0 and 2 βv βv
TE2 ) and coupling between odd modes (e.g., TE1 and TE3 ) (9.4)
nearly disappear when the refractive index difference n =
n 2 − n 1 is small, i.e., n < n 2 − n 0 , since the field profiles of
the guided modes of two waveguides (α = 1 and 2) resemble where βv(α) is the propagation constant of the vth mode in
each other and the orthogonality relation approximately holds the layer with refractive index n α (α = 1 and 2). Compared
for these two modes of different waveguides. In the TMI with the pioneering work [17], [18], where the propagation
coupler with a grating, TE0 and TE1 modes are dominantly of a plane wave of infinite extent is treated, the coefficients
excited at the same power level and their Bragg reflections and η1 and η2 appear in (7). These coefficients represent the
a self-imaging effect (i.e., a beat phenomenon) are utilized. excitation efficiency and approach unity as the modulation
On the other hand, the TMM described below is a rigorous depth is decreased. Hereafter we set η1 = η2 = 1, since
approach since Maxwell’s equations are exactly solved in each these coefficients hardly affect the reflection and transmission
layered structure. Therefore we can calculate the reflection and responses of the MMI devices with Bragg gratings.
transmission properties with satisfactory accuracy. One the other hand, the matrix relation for the two
In the following, we consider the propagation of the vth MT sections is given by
guided mode. We apply the TMM not to a single layer, but ⎛ ⎞
 (1)
 β
(1) (1)

to a unit cell consisting of two adjacent layers, as was done a0 e j v LF 0 a1
in [17], [18]. It is assumed that the grating section consists =⎝ (1)
⎠ , (10)
of N cells. Let us now consider the nth unit cell as shown in b0(1) 0 e− j
βv L
F b1(1)
  ⎛ ⎞ 
Fig. 1. We write the electric field of the vth mode in the α (1) (1)
βv L (1)
aN+1 j aN+2
⎝e 0
B
layer of the nth unit cell as = (1)
⎠ , (11)
(1) β (1)
(α) bN+1 0 e− j v L B bN+2
E y (x, z) = an(α) F (α) (x) e − jβv [z−L F −(n−1)].
(α)
+ bn(α) F (α) (x) e jβv [z−L F −(n−1)].
(6) where a0(1) and b0(1)are the amplitudes at the input end (z =0)
(1) (1)
(1)
To relate the complex amplitudes an−1 (1)
, bn−1 of the forward and aN+2 and bN+2 are ones at the output end (z = L T ),
(1) (1) (1) (1) (1) (1)
and backward waves at the left of interface at z = L F + i.e., a0 = av (0) , b0 = bv (0) ,aN+2 = av (L T ), and
(1) (1) (1) (1)
(n − 2) to an , bn at the left of next interface at z = bN+2 = bv (L T ).
L F + (n − 1), we impose continuity of the tangential From (7), (10), and (11), the input-output relation of the
components E y and Hx at the interfaces at z = L F + (n − 2) device can be represented by the product of the individual

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6600108 IEEE JOURNAL OF QUANTUM ELECTRONICS, VOL. 53, NO. 2, FEBRUARY 2017

unit cell or layer matrix as

 (1)  N+2  
av (0)  An Bn
av(1) (L T )
(1)
= (1)
bv (0) C n Dn bv (L T )
n=1

 (1)

A T BT av (L T )
≡ (1)
. (12)
C T DT bv (L T )
Assuming no backward wave at the output end, i.e.,
(1)
bv (L T ) = 0, the complex amplitudes of the transmitted mode
and the reflected mode of vth order are given by Fig. 2. Sampling function and sampled Bragg grating.

1 (1)
av(1) (L T ) = a (0) , (13) difference between two adjacent layers. The spectral width of
AT v reflection band is determined by the index contrast as [17]
CT (1)  (2) (1) 
bv(1) (0) = a (0) . (14) λ 4 n ev − n ev 
AT v = . (18)
λB (2)
π n ev (1)
+ n ev
C. Device Design To operate the device normally, the Bragg wavelength dif-
Bragg scattering of each guided mode in the MM grating ference λB = λB0 −λB1 should be at least smaller than
takes place at an individual wavelength for given device the reflection bandwidth λ. The condition (i.e., normalized
parameters. A strong reflection of the guided mode takes place Bragg wavelength difference) λB /λ <1 can be attained by
when the round-trip phase change inside a unit cell is 2π. increasing the width W of the MM waveguide.
Therefore a Bragg condition for the vth mode is given by We can change the relative output powers through two
ports 1 and 2 (or 3 and 4) by using spatial self-imaging effects
 (1) (2)

n ev a + n ev b k0 = π, (15) of the MT sections, i.e., interference between the TE0 and TE1
modes propagating in the same direction. In the MMI device
(α)
where n ev = βv(α)/k0 is the effective mode index in region with uniform Bragg gratings, the relative output powers at two
α(=1 and 2) and k0 = 2π/λ is the wavenumber of free space. ports 1 and 2 can be changed by changing the length of the
(1) (2)
The choice of n ev a2π/λBv = π/2 and n ev b2π/λBv = π/2 front MT section L F . When port 2 is used as a drop port for
gives quarter-wave layers at an operating wavelength λBv for an ADM, we have to maximize reflectance R2 at the Bragg
the vth mode. Since we consider a quasi-TMI coupler based wavelength. The length L F can be determined by the following
on the first two modes, i.e., TE0 and TE1 modes and layer phase condition
thicknesses a and bdepend on the mode number v, we decide  
(1) (1)
2 β0 − β1 L F −φ 0 + φ1 = (2m − 1) π,
them by assuming quarter-wave layers with an average mode
index of these two modes as m = 1, 2, 3, . . . (19)
(1) (1)
λB 1 b0 (L F ) b1 (L F )
a= , (16.1) where φ0 = arg( (1) ) and φ1 = arg( (1) ) are the phase
4 (1) (1)
n e0 +n e1 a0 (L F ) a1 (L F )
2 shift of reflection coefficients for the two modes at the input
λB 1 end of the grating section (z = L F ). Moreover, when port 4
b= (2) (2)
, (16.2) is used as an output port for an ADM, we have to optimize
4 n e0 +n e1
2 transmittance T4 for wavelengths outside the reflection band.
where λB is a design wavelength for Bragg scattering. Sub- The length of the back MT section L B can be determined by
stituting (16) into (15) gives the Bragg wavelength for each the following equation
 
mode (1) (1)
β0 − β1 (L F + L B ) − ψ0 + ψ1
 
λB0 1 n (1)e n (2)
e = (2m − 1) π, m = 1, 2, 3, . . . (20)
= 1+ + (2) , (17.1)
λB 4 n (1) n e0 (1)
a0 (L F +L G )
(1)
a1 (L F +L G )
 e0  where ψ0 = arg( (1) ) and ψ1 = arg( (1) )
(1) (2) a0 (L F ) a1 (L F )
λB1 1 n e n e
= 1− + (2) , (17.2) are the phase shift of transmission coefficients for the
λB 4 n (1) n
e1 e1 two modes at the output end of the grating section
(α)
(z = L F + L G ). Actually, we determined the optimal value for
(α)
where n(α)e = n e0 −n e1 (α = 1, 2) is the difference in L B by directly calculating the transmission spectra of MMI
the effective mode index between the two modes in the devices for different values of L B .
α layer. Bragg scattering of the TE0 and TE1 modes We also treat a sampled Bragg grating exhibiting periodic
takes place at the wavelengths λB0 (> λB ) and λB1 (< λB ), superstructure shown in Fig. 2. This grating is constructed
respectively. by multiplying a sampling function S(z) and the refractive
The attainable reflectivity of each mode is determined by index change n(z) of the uniform grating. It is known that
the number of unit cells and by effective refractive index every spatial Fourier component of such an index modulation

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OGUSU: REFLECTION AND TRANSMISSION SPECTRA OF MMI DEVICES WITH BRAGG GRATINGS 6600108

creates a peak to the reflection spectrum [19]. The wavelength

separation of reflection peaks λS is given by
λ2B
λS = , (21)
2n e Z 0
where n e is the average refractive index in the sampled grating
and Z 0 is the sampling period. To obtain a large number of
peaks in the spectrum, small duty cycle (1> Z 1 /Z 0 ) gratings
are required.

III. N UMERICAL R ESULTS AND D ISCUSSION

We present the numerical results for the reflection and trans-
mission spectra of MMI devices with uniform and sampled
Bragg gratings. For the whole numerical computations in this Fig. 3. Reflection and transmission spectra of the Bragg reflecting MMI
section, ports 1, 2, and 4 shown in Fig. 1 are assumed to be device with n = 0.006, L G = 1000 μm, L F = 25 μm, and L B = 480 μm.
input, drop, and output ports of an ADM, respectively. The design wavelength is chosen to be 1550 nm.

Before presenting the numerical results, we describe the

device parameters used in the present modeling, the char-
acteristics of the MM waveguide without a grating, and
the excitation coefficients Ci required for the numerical
computation. It is assumed that the MMI device consists of
As2 Se3 -based chalcogenide glasses and the operating wave-
length of the device is λ = 1.55 μm. Since the nonlinear
refractive index is 103 times larger than that of fused sil-
ica [20], this material has been used for the modeling of
a nonlinear MMI coupler [21], [22]. All numerical results
presented here were calculated using the following values: the
cladding refractive index n 0 = 2.78, the core refractive index
n 1 = 2.80, and the width of input and output waveguides
d = 2 μm. Except for Fig. 6(b), the width of MMI section
W = 8 μm and the position of input and output waveguides
x c = 2.2 μm are used. For such a MMI configuration, the
input and output waveguides support the TE0 mode only and
the MMI waveguide supports the first four guided modes
(TE0 to TE3 ). The excitation coefficients of these four modes
are C0 =0.6673, C1 = 0.6693,  C2 = −0.2655, and
C3 =0.0558. Therefore we have 3i=0 Ci2 = 0.9671, which
means that the contribution of radiation modes is not large.
It is confirmed that this MMI configuration nearly operates
as a TMI coupler based on the TE0 and TE1 modes since
C0 ∼= C1 > |C2 | , |C3 | . The beat length of the TMI coupler
(1) (1)
given by L π = π/(β0 − β1 ) is 220 μm.
Figure 3 shows an example of the reflection and transmis-
sion spectra of the Bragg reflecting MMI device with a uni- Fig. 4. Reflection and transmission spectra of the Bragg reflecting MMI
form grating. This example assumes n(= n 2 –n 1 ) = 0.006, device with n =0.01 for two values of L G : (a) L G = 500 μm, L F = 60 μm,
L G = 1000 μm, L F = 25 μm, and L B = 480 μm. These and L B = 520 μm, (b) L G = 1000 μm, L F = 66 μm, and L B = 430 μm.
The design wavelength is chosen to be 1550 nm.
values for L F and L B have been optimized in accordance
with the procedure described in subsection C. Moreover the
grating parameters a = 0.13854 μm, b = 0.13825 μm, and for a given grating length L G or the grating length is not
 = 0.27679 μm are chosen for n 1 =2.80 and n 2 =2.806 sufficient for a given n. Considering the application of the
so that the Bragg wavelength λB becomes 1550 nm. It is devices to photonic integrated circuits, it is preferable that the
found that R1 , i.e., the back reflection to input port 1 becomes refractive index difference n is increased.
large at λB ∓20 nm. At the same wavelengths, the nearly zero Figure 4 shows the reflection and transmission spectra of
transmission takes place at port 4 and thereby the transmission the Bragg reflecting MMI device with n = 0.01 for two
to port 3 has a peak value >0.6. Although we have a high values of the grating length L G . The grating parameters a =
reflectivity R2 over 0.8 and nearly zero transmittance T4 at 0.13854 μm, b = 0.13805 μm,  = 0.27659 μm are chosen
1550 nm, a reflection band is not clear. The cause is that the for n 1 = 2.80 and n 2 = 2.81 so that λB becomes 1550 nm. The
index modulation n is weak for gaining a sufficient reflection lengths of the MT sections are designed so that L F = 60 μm

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6600108 IEEE JOURNAL OF QUANTUM ELECTRONICS, VOL. 53, NO. 2, FEBRUARY 2017

two-mode approximation using the TE0 and TE1 modes.

Supposing the peak reflectivity R2 of unity, we have spectra
for a directional coupler, where excitation
√ coefficients of even
and odd modes C0 = C1 = 1/ 2. The spectra shown
in Fig. 5(a) are in good agreement with those shown in
Fig. 4(b) except for the following points: Spectra calculated
with the two-mode model are symmetric with respect to
the Bragg wavelength λB =1550 nm. Peculiar change on
the T4 curve at the wavelength of 1544 nm and the ripple
in the reflection band of the R2 curve are related to the
presence of higher TE2 and TE3 modes. Figure 5(b) shows
the wavelength dependence of the phase shifts φ0 and φ1 of
reflected TE0 and TE1 modes at the input end (z = L F ) of
the grating section, respectively, and their difference φ0 –φ1 .
Using (17), we find that Bragg scattering of these two modes
takes place at the wavelengths λB ±1.01 nm and the dif-
ference between these two Bragg wavelengths is λB =
2.02 nm. The results given in Fig. 5(b) agree with these
predictions. The reflection bandwidth calculated from (18)
is λ = 3.50 nm for the TE0 mode and λ = 3.42 nm
for the TE1 mode. Adapting λ = 3.42 nm, we have the
normalized Bragg wavelength difference λB /λ = 0.591.
On the basis of Fig. 5(b), we can discuss the spectra shown in
Fig. 5(a) by dividing the wavelength region into three parts, I,
II, and III, which are indicated on the top edge of Fig. 5(b). In
region I, the two reflection bands of the TE0 and TE1 modes
overlap. We have almost no transmission because of a strong
reflection as seen in Fig. 5(a). It is found that the reflection
bandwidth of the MMI coupler with a uniform Bragg grating
Fig. 5. (a) Reflection and transmission spectra of the device in Fig. 5(b) agrees with the section between the two Bragg wavelengths.
calculated using a two-mode approximation based on the TE0 and TE1 modes.
(b) Wavelength dependence of phase shifts of these two modes, φ0 and φ1 , In region II, one of the two modes is outside the reflection
at the input end of the grating section and their difference φ0 –φ1 . Regions bands. Therefore the input power is partially transmitted
I, II, and III indicated on the top of the figure are used for discussion of the through the grating section. Figure 5(a) shows that the trans-
spectrum properties.
mitted power is equally divided into ports 3 and 4. This means
and L B = 520 μm for L G = 500 μm and L F = 66 μm that the spatial self-imaging effect in the back MT section
and L B = 430 μm for L G = 1000 μm. It is natural that the hardly acts in this wavelength region. The cause is that when
value of L F for L G = 500 μm is nearly equal to that for the two modes propagate in the opposite direction to each
L G = 1000 μm, since an optimal value of L F is determined other, the self-imaging effect never occurs in the MT section
by only the phase shift difference φ0 − φ1 at the input end for a lack of two modes required for interference. In region III,
of the grating section as given by phase condition (19) and the two modes are outside their reflection bands. The reflection
they are almost the same for given two values of L G . On the decreases exponentially and hence the transmission increases
other hand, since an optimal length of L B depends on the total as the operating wavelength moves away from the Bragg
length of L F and L G (i.e., the phase shift of the transmission wavelength. The power transmitted through the grating section
coefficient ψ) as given by (20), they have different values for emerges from port 4 owing to the suitable self-imaging effect
given two values of L G . Compared with the results given in in the back MT section.
Fig. 3, we can obtain a clear reflection band by increasing Finally we investigate the reflection and transmission spec-
the index modulation as shown in Fig. 4. In the reflection tra of the MMI device with a sampled Bragg grating.
spectrum at port 2, side lobes appear outside the reflection Figure 6(a) shows the spectra of the MMI device with the
band. It is already known that such side lobes are remarkable sampled grating for W = 8 μm, L G = 1000 μm, L F =
in the case of uniform Bragg gratings and that the level of the 215 μm, and L B = 305 μm. The sampled grating is formed
side lobes increases as the reflectance at the Bragg wavelength by modulating the uniform grating treated in Fig. 4(b) by the
is increased [16]. It is confirmed that the present results show sampling function S(z) with Z 0 = 144  and Z 1 = 72 ,
such a tendency. If these side lobes become a problem, they where  = 0.27659 μm is the length of the unit cell of the
can be suppressed by apodization of the grating [16]. grating. There are 25 grating sections with the sampling period
We further investigate the MMI device treated in Fig. 4(b) Z 0 = 39.829 μm and the duty cycle Z 1 /Z 0 =50% within the
from the point of view that it operates as a quasi-TMI grating length L G = 1000 μm. The wavelength separation
device based on the first two modes. Figure 5(a) shows of reflection peaks is calculated to be λS = 10.8 nm for a
the reflection and transmission spectra calculated with a given value of Z 0 . Focusing our attention on reflectance R2

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OGUSU: REFLECTION AND TRANSMISSION SPECTRA OF MMI DEVICES WITH BRAGG GRATINGS 6600108

λB /λ = 0.168. This value is improved by 3.5 times

compared with one for W = 8 μm. Figure 6(b) shows the
results for W = 16 μm, L G = 1000 μm, L F = 280 μm,
and L B = 940 μm. In this case, the MMI waveguide supports
the first seven guided modes. The excitation coefficients of
these seven modes are C0 = 0.5813, C1 = 0.5801, C2 =
−0.0924, C3 = 0.3322, C4 = −0.3573, C5 = −0.096, and
C6 = −0.1407 for the position of input and output waveguides
x c = 3.25 μm and the power carried by the total guided modes
becomes 6i=0 Ci2 = 0.9502. This MMI device operates as a
TMI coupler since C0 ∼ = C1 > |C2 | ∼ |C6 |. We have three
reflection peaks (m =0 and ±1) with approximately equal
reflectivity R2 > 0.45 and very small back reflectionR1. The
peak reflectivity inevitably becomes small since the excitation
coefficients C0 and C1 decrease as the width W is increased.
It is confirmed that the device works as a 3-channel ADM
since reflectivity R1 and transmissivity T3 are very small
inside these three bands. Compared with the results shown
in Fig. 4(b) or Fig. 6(a), the unwanted R1 and T3 outside
bands are low because of an increase in the degree of overlap
of the two stopbands. However, the reflection and transmission
spectra of the device are complicated by the presence of many
guided modes. If we pay no attention to the device size, a
Bragg reflecting directional coupler using two supermodes is
generally superior in ability to a Bragg reflecting MMI coupler.

IV. C ONCLUSION
We have analyzed the reflection and transmission spectra
of a 2×2 MMI device that partially incorporates a Bragg
grating as a reflecting mirror by a combination of the mode-
propagation method and the transfer-matrix method. The MMI
device has been assumed to operate as a quasi-TMI coupler
based on the first two modes and the MT sections without
Fig. 6. Reflection and transmission spectra of the MMI device with a sampled gratings have been connected on the front and back sides
Bragg grating with 25 sampling periods and a 50% duty cycle (Z 1 = 72 
and Z 0 = 144 ). The parameter m is the order of the Fourier components of the grating section to get the ADM action. The Bragg
of the sample grating. (a) W = 8 μm, L G = 1000 μm,L F = 215 μm, grating treated in this analysis is a rectangular modulated
and L B = 305 μm, (b) W = 16 μm, L G = 1000 μm,L F = 280 μm, and dielectric grating and the reflection and transmission spectra
L B = 940 μm.
have been examined for uniform and sampled Bragg gratings.
The overlap of the stopbands for the two guided modes is
to port 2, multiple reflection peaks of first- and higher-orders important to gain normal operation of these devices. The
(|m| ≥ 1) are splitted into two peaks unlike a single peak of spectral response for a uniform Bragg grating was discussed
the zeroth-order (m = 0) at λB . Note that the order m of the according to the state of overlap of the stopbands. It has
Fourier components of the sampled grating is described in the been found that unwanted reflection and transmission always
figure. The two splitted peaks are the stopbands of the TE0 take place just outside the stopband. The spectra based on
and TE1 modes. Therefore these two modes are separately a two-mode approximation have also been presented and the
reflected at different wavelengths and then the reflected mode effects of higher-order guided modes on the spectra have also
power is distributed between ports 1 and 2 due to C0 ∼ = C1 . been investigated. In the case of a sampled Bragg grating,
The cause for the split is that the bandwidth of the created a sufficient overlap is required so that each of the created
multiple reflections is narrower than that of the zeroth order multiple stopbands is not splitted into two peaks, which is
[19]. Therefore more sufficient overlap of the two stopbands attained by increasing the width of the MMI section. The
is required to ensure the proper device operation. It is also ADM function has been achieved by such a way although the
found that the second-order bands (m = ±2) disappear. The spectral response degrades somewhat owing to the presence
cause is that the reflection from a single grating section with of many guided modes. However, for practical applications
length Z 1 vanishes at the two wavelengths. to multi-channel ADMs, the amplitude and/or phase profiles
We can improve the degree of overlap of the two stopbands of the grating to be modulated should be determined so as to
only by increasing the widthW of MMI section. Assuming provide the desired reflection spectra for a given channel count
W = 16 μm, we have the Bragg wavelength difference λB = and spacing. The results obtained in this work are applicable
0.59 nm and then the normalized Bragg wavelength difference to directional couplers with Bragg gratings.

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6600108 IEEE JOURNAL OF QUANTUM ELECTRONICS, VOL. 53, NO. 2, FEBRUARY 2017

ACKNOWLEDGMENT [14] Y.-J. Lin and S.-L. Lee, “InP-based 1.3/1.55 μm wavelength demulti-
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the manuscript. He is also grateful to his old classmates, C.-C. Chen, “A novel wavelength-division multiplexer using grating-
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analysis of narrow band transmission asymmetric directional couplers Kazuhiko Ogusu (M’77–LM’13) was born in Hamamatsu, Japan, in 1947.
with Bragg grating induced phase matching,” Opt. Exp., vol. 18, no. 22, He received the B.E. and M.E. degrees in electrical engineering from Shizuoka
pp. 23183–23195, 2010. University, Hamamatsu, Japan, in 1970 and 1972, respectively, and the Ph.D.
[10] W. Shi et al., “Silicon photonic grating-assisted, contra-directional degree in telecommunications engineering from Tohoku University, Sendai,
couplers,” Opt. Exp., vol. 21, no. 3, pp. 3633–3650, 2013. Japan, in 1981. From 1972 to 2013, he was with the Faculty of Engineering
[11] H. Qiu et al., “Silicon mode multi/demultiplexer based on multimode and the Graduate School of Science and Technology, Shizuoka University.
grating-assisted couplers,” Opt. Exp., vol. 21, no. 15, pp. 17904–17911, He is currently a Professor Emeritus of the university and continues his
Jul. 2013. research while engaging in farming. His research interests include inte-
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Sep. 2001. and the Optical Society of America.

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