Improved design of a 64×64 arrayed waveguide grating based on silicon-on-insulator substrate

The arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) multiplexer is a key component in wavelength division multiplexing fibre-optic communication systems. In this paper, an integrated optical 64×64 AWG with 0.4 nm (50 GHz) channel spacing at 1.55 µm based on silicon-on-insulator substrate is designed and analysed. An optimal value of waveguide separation at the junction between the arrayed waveguides region and the free propagation region is obtained. To get a better uniformity for 64 channel output while insertion loss and crosstalk are taken into account, an improved design is described using a tapered waveguide structure at each end of the AWG.