Ultralow-loss 3-dB photonic crystal waveguide splitter

A photonic crystal waveguide splitter that exhibits ultralow-loss 3-dB splitting for TE-polarized light is fabricated in silicon-on-insulator material by use of deep UV lithography. The high performance is achieved by use of a Y junction, which is designed to ensure single-mode operation, and low-loss 60 degrees bends. Zero-loss 3-dB output is experimentally obtained in the range 1560-1585 nm. Results from three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain modeling with no adjustable parameters are found to be in excellent agreement with the experimental results.