Abstract

The advance of integrated-optics technology has increased interest in guided-wave phenomena. The problem of coupling between parallel dielectric waveguides has been extensively studied. However, the previous discussions are made only for the coupling of a single-frequency wave. In this research, we investigate the problem of conversion of a pulse from one waveguide to the other. The pulse is first decomposed into different frequency components. The coupling between waveguides for each component can be evaluated by using the well-developed coupling theories. The coupled pulse is simply a superimposition of many coupled components. Because the coupling coefficients for various frequency components are different, the coupled pulse is distorted. These distortions are examined for both TE and TM modes. A two-waveguide system is discussed first. Then, a system with more than two parallel waveguides is studied. Also, in evaluating the coupling strength, the conventional coupling formalism is used. However, the modified theory by Streifer is considered as well.

© 1987 Optical Society of America