A Compact Low-Loss Broadband Polarization Independent Silicon 50/50 Splitter

We present a low-loss, compact, polarization insensitive 3-dB optical power-splitter for submicron silicon waveguides. The splitter is optimized over a broad wavelength span ranging from 1300 to 1700 nm through finite difference time domain simulations. The splitter junction footprint is only 1.8 × 1.3 μm, which is smaller than previously reported broadband multimode junction splitters. Furthermore, the demonstrated device overcomes the fabrication limitations of previous splitters while maintaining a compact size without any sharp angles. The device was fabricated using electron beam lithography. The experimental results show a small insertion loss of less than 0.3 dB for both the TE and TM polarizations.