Abstract

A laminated polarization splitter (LPS) [1] is a building block for a number of ultrasmall fiber-integrated optical devices. Figure 1 schematically shows the structure and performance of an LPS, consisting of alternately laminated dielectric materials with a high refractive index and a low index. Thicknesses of two kinds of layers are the same, and the period is sufficiently small compared to the wavelength λ. The optical properties of an LPS are the same as those of uniaxial crystal because of form-birefringence and the principal axis of the multilayer structure is perpendicular to the layers [2]. The projected light beam splits into an ordinary wave E₀ polarized in the y direction and an extraordinary wave E_e polarized in the x direction. This paper discusses the fabrication of high-performance, low-loss a-Si:H/SiC>2 LPS's for 1.55pm wavelength region.

© 1993 Optical Society of America