Reflecting AWG by Using Photonic Crystal Reflector on Indium-Phosphide Membrane on Silicon Platform

In this letter, a reflection-type arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) (de)multiplexer using high-reflection photonic crystal reflector (PCR) in the Indium-phosphide Membrane on Silicon (IMOS) platform is proposed and experimentally demonstrated for the first time. This reflection-type AWG enables a 35% size-reduced footprint compared with the traditional transmission-type AWG having the same spectral parameters. Considering the realized performance of silicon-nanowire R-AWGs, an acceptable performance (
$680\,\times \,190\,\mu \text {m}^{2}$
size, 6.7-dB loss, and 10-dB crosstalk) is obtained. By using the ultra-small
$5.4\,\times \,0.7\,\mu \text {m}^{2}$
PCR, merely 1.1-dB power loss higher than the corresponding transmission-type AWG is implemented. The PCR is a standard building block with a reflectivity of >90%. Besides, the length reduction of the arrayed waveguide will contribute to minimize the accumulated phase error in fabrication.