Programmable SCOW Mesh Silicon Photonic Processor for Linear Unitary Operator

oleh: Liangjun Lu, Linjie Zhou, Jianping Chen

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2019-09-01

Deskripsi

Universal unitary multiport interferometers (UMIs) can perform any arbitrary unitary transformation to a vector of input optical modes, which are essential for a wide range of applications. Most UMIs are realized by fixed photonic circuits with a triangular or a rectangular architecture. Here, we present the implementation of an <i>N</i> &#215; <i>N</i> rectangular UMI with a programmable photonic processor based on two-dimensional meshes of self-coupled optical waveguide (SCOW) resonant structures. Our architecture shows a high tolerance to the unbalanced loss upon interference. This work enriches the functionality of the SCOW mesh photonic processors, which are promising for field-programmable photonic arrays.