Multimode Interference based Y-Branch Polymer Optical Waveguide Splitter: Design and Investigation

We demonstrate multimode interference (MMI)-based Y-branch single-mode step-index (SI) core polymer optical waveguide splitter for the development of optical circuitry. This polymer waveguide splitter consists of a single input and multiple (six) outputs realized with organic-inorganic hybrid polymer materials. We set the core width for input and outputs of this polymer waveguide splitter as a single-mode, where the core width is particularly
$6.5\ \mu\mathrm{m}$
. We design and demonstrate this Y-branch waveguide splitter using the beam propagation method at 1550-nm wavelength following the self-imaging principle. The power efficiency of this MMI-based Y-branch polymer waveguide splitter is 71%, and the excess loss is 1.4 dB.