Optics on silicon lose polarization dependence.

Test & Measurement World, May, 2007 by Rowe, Martin

Martin Rowe, Senior Technical Editor

MIT researchers recently announced that they may have found a solution to polarization-dependence problems in ICs. Light traveling in fiber-optic cables experiences randomized polarization, which makes steering light in silicon difficult. By eliminating this dependence, an IC can process optical signals without needing to convert them to electrical signals.

The MIT researchers overcame the problem by manipulating the light polarization, thus making the light's polarization parallel to the substrate's surface. The device best manipulates light that has a polarization state that is parallel to the substrate's surface.

The process involves separating the signal's vertical transverse-magnetic (TM) and...

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