Integrated polarizer based on 45° tilted gratings

Abstract

We report the first integrated implementation of a polarizer based on the use of 45° tilted gratings in planar waveguides. The waveguides and gratings are fabricated by direct UV writing in a hydrogenated germanium-doped silica-on-silicon chip. We experimentally demonstrate a polarization extinction ratio per unit length of 0.25 dB mm ^-1 with a modelled wavelength dependence smaller than 0.3 dB for a 20 mm device over the C band from 1530-1570 nm. We also present a novel numerical study and analytical description of the architecture that are in good agreement with each other and the experimental data.