Abstract

Recent results for tuning the effective index birefringence are presented. In the first example, the birefringence of micron-scale silicon-on-insulator (SOI) ridge waveguides is controlled using the stress induced by a SiO₂ cladding. In the second example, a high index cap layer is used to shift the difference between TE and TM mode effective index in selected areas of a silica or SOI slab waveguide. Both approaches are demonstrated experimentally as practical methods to eliminate the polarization sensitivity of silica and SOI waveguide spectrometers, while incurring negligible extra waveguide losses.

© 2004 Optical Society of America