Dual-Drive Directional Couplers for Programmable Integrated Photonics

Abstract: A novel class of photonic integrated circuits employs large-scale integration of combined beam splitters and waveguides loaded with phase actuators to provide complex linear processing functionalities that can be reconfigured dynamically. Here, we propose and experimentally demonstrate a thermally-actuated Dual-Drive Directional Coupler (DD-DC) design, integrated in a silicon nitride platform, functioning both as a standalone optical component providing arbitrary optical beam splitting and common phase as well as for its use in waveguide mesh arrangements. We analyze the experimental demonstration of the first integration of a triangular waveguide mesh arrangement, and the first DD-DC based arrangement along with an extended analysis of its performance and scalability.