Realization of a Novel $1\times{\rm N}$ Power Splitter With Uniformly Excited Ports

The first experimental demonstration of a novel ring resonator-based 1 × N optical power splitter is reported. We fabricate the device on a Si
₃
N
₄
waveguide platform utilizing a bonded thermal oxide upper cladding. Fiber coupling and near-held-imaging experiments at 1550 nm show that a 1 × 16 power splitter achieves very low excess loss of 0.9 dB in addition to excellent uniformity of 0.4 dB. The resonances of the device show a loaded quality factor of 6 million and hnesse of 100. The device is promising for high-port-count power splitters without the need for cascaded stages. We also discuss applications requiring the wavelength selectivity of the device.