Wrocław University of Science and Technology
Researches
As part of the HYPHa project, the research team from the Department of Optics and Photonics at Wrocław University of Science and Technology is involved in designing and numerical modeling of components of integrated photonic circuits, such as straight and bent waveguides, rib waveguides, couplers, interferometers, resonators, and multiplexers. Simulations are carried out primarily using software based on the finite-element method in the frequency domain, finite-difference time-domain method, or methods developed in-house based on mode analysis.
The aim of the simulations is to design photonic components with specific optical properties (effective refractive indices, field distributions, propagation and bending losses, coupling and crosstalk coefficients, spectral responses, etc.) for selected spectral ranges. Examples include the development of two-mode waveguides with reduced bending losses for a platform with medium refractive-index contrast based on SiO2:TiO2.
The team also performs experimental characterization of PIC components. They have systems for horizontal and vertical light coupling into devices, simultaneous observation of the upper surface and side of the tested device, and detection of the output signal. The output signal is recorded using cameras, detectors, spectrometers, or optical spectrum analyzers. In most cases, broadband sources such as LEDs, superluminescent diodes, supercontinuum sources, or tunable lasers are used for testing waveguides and photonic components.
