Structural Optimization of an Optical 90 Degree Hybrid Based on a Weakly-guided 4x4 Multimode Interference Coupler Using a Parallelized Real-coded Micro-genetic Algorithm

The optimal design of a 4x4 multimode interference (MMI) coupler as an optical 90° hybrid based on a weakly-guided optical waveguide was considered. Seven geometrical parameters of a 4x4 MMI coupler were optimized by a real-coded micro-genetic algorithm, and parallelized using a message-passing interface. The beam-propagation method was used to evaluate the fitness of the MMI coupler in the optimization process. The optimized 4x4 MMI coupler showed a common-mode rejection ratio greater than 28.9 dBe and a phase error less than 2.52° across a wavelength range of 1520 to 1580 nm, which satisfied typical system requirements. The optimization process was executed on a Beowulf-style cluster comprising five identical PCs, and its parallel efficiency was 0.78.

An Optical Analog-to-Digital Converter with Enhanced ENOB Based on MMI-Based Phase-Shift Quantization

An optical analog-to-digital converter (OADC) scheme with enhanced bit resolution by using a multimode interference (MMI) coupler as optical quantization is proposed. The mathematical simulation model was established to verify the feasibility and to investigate the robustness of the scheme. Simulation results show that 20 quantization levels (corresponding to 4.32 of effective number of bits (ENOB)) are realized by using only 6 channels, which indicates that the scheme requires much fewer quantization channels or modulators to realize the same amount of ENOB. The scheme is robust and potential for integration.