Exponentially tapered multi-mode interference couplers

Optical couplers are important components in photonic integrated circuits. The multi-mode interference (MMI) coupler is a good candidate because of its bandwidth, polarization properties, and manufacturing tolerances. A MMI coupler with the exponentially tapered multi-mode waveguide is proposed in order to reduce the scale of the MMI device. Compared with parabolically tapered structure which has been successfully used in the MMI devices, this structure can further reduce the length of devices. Simulation results by the beam propagation method for MMI couplers are given. The effectiveness of this structure for reducing MMI device length is proved.