Wavelength Sensitive Tapered Coupler with Anti-Resonant Waveguides

We describe a coupler that consists of two phase-mismatched polymer waveguides coupled together by a tapered AIAs/AlGaAs vertical cavity structure. At any particular wave-length the light is transferred from one polymer waveguide to the other via the semiconductor cavity at a unique position along the waveguide. Thus, the length of the device determines the range of wavelengths transferred. In addition to a wavelength router, the structure could be useful for wavelength selective amplifiers or multiwavelength lasers. The concept is demonstrated in a passive structure with a resolution of about 1 nm. © 1994 IEEE