Polarization beam splitter building block for InP based generic photonic integrated circuits

Abstract

We demonstrate a fully integrated polarization beam splitter with a polarization extinction ratio above 25dB for both polarization states and an insertion loss of 2.5dB. The footprint of the device including electrical contacts is 0.4×2mm2. A Mach-Zehnder configuration is used, the birefringence in both arms differs due to different waveguide widths. Fabrication tolerances can be compensated with thermal tuning. The device is realized in our generic integration platform, making it viable to provide monolithically integrated solutions for polarization diversity applications.