Silicon-on-insulator waveguide TE/TM polarization beam splitter

We design, fabricate and test a novel TE/TM polarization beam splitter which is based on the dependence of birefringence on rib width in silicon-on-insulator waveguides. The polarization beam splitter has high TE to TM extinction ratio, low excess loss and wide operation bandwidth. The simple fabrication method involves only single etch step.