194 IEEE JOURNAL OF SELECTED TOPICS IN QUANTUM ELECTRONICS, VOL. 13, NO.

2, MARCH/APRIL 2007

2-D MMI Devices Based on Integrated Hollow

ARROW Waveguides
Romeo Bernini, Member, IEEE, Elbano De Nuccio, Aldo Minardo, Luigi Zeni, Member, IEEE,
and Pasqualina M. Sarro

AbstractIn this paper, the design, fabrication, and character-

ization of 2-D multimode interference (MMI) devices based on in-
tegrated silicon hollow antiresonant reflection optical waveguides
(ARROW) is presented. Unlike conventional waveguides, the field
in ARROW is not confined in the core region by total internal
reflection but by dielectric cladding layers designed to form-high
reflectivity FabryPerot mirrors. This peculiar structure permits
to realize integrated hollow-core waveguides using standard sili-
con technology. In this paper, we show that these waveguides can
be usefully applied in the fabrication of 2-D MMI devices. With
a 130 m 130 m cross-section waveguide, multiple images are
observed from 1 1 to 6 6 image matrices. These devices also
exhibit interesting bandpass spectral properties that can be use-
fully applied in several fields ranging from telecommunications to
Fig. 1. Cross section of the 2-D hollow-core ARROW waveguide.
sensing.
Index TermsHollow waveguides, integrate optics, multimode
interference (MMI), 2-D waveguides. as dispersion, absorption, and nonlinear effects. As an example,
their temperature sensitivity, which arises from the temperature
dependence of the refractive index of the core materials, can
I. INTRODUCTION represent a serious problem.
NTEGRATED multimode interference (MMI) devices have The use of hollow waveguides, in which the light can be
I gained great attention, because of many advantages such
as their compact size, large bandwidth, and fabrication toler-
confined in an air core, has many potentialities for solving these
problems. Recently, a 2-D multiple-imaging phenomenon in
ance [1]. MMI devices essentially reproduce an input optical hollow waveguides has been reported [10] and applied to the
field in single or multiple images at periodic intervals along the realization of an optical switch [11].
propagation direction on the guide. This property, which is com- In this paper, we present an optical MMI device based
monly referred to as self-imaging, can be used to realize a variety on a hollow-core antiresonant reflecting optical waveguide
of integrated optical devices such as beam-splitters, directional (ARROW) integrated in silicon [12], [13]. The ARROW is a
couplers, MachZehnder interferometers, wavelength-division leaky waveguide, in which light is confined inside the low-
multiplexers (WDM), fiber lens, and filters [1][4]. However, in refractive-index core by means of cladding layers acting as high-
the literature, most of the formulations and applications have reflectivity FabryPerot mirrors. This solution permits to reduce
been devoted to integrated planar waveguides in which the notably the effect of propagation losses on the self-imaging ef-
self-imaging occurs only in one dimension. Recently, the self- ficiency, due to the high reflectivity that is possible to achieve in
imaging principle has been extended to two dimensions, and the ARROW. Moreover, the proposed structure can be easily re-
the properties of 2-D MMI have been studied [5][7]. Typically, alized by standard silicon technology, facilitating the integration
both 1-D and 2-D MMI devices are based on conventional solid- with the IC components on the same substrate.
core dielectric waveguides [8], [9]. These waveguides can be In this paper, after introducing the modal properties of an
easily integrated and fabricated using standard microelectronic ARROW, the principle of the self-imaging theory, and the
processes; however, they suffer from some fundamental limita- waveguide fabrication process, we will show some experimen-
tions associated with the light propagation through solids such tal results, reporting the 2-D multiple-imaging phenomenon as
compared to the theoretical predictions for the 2-D MMI AR-
Manuscript received October 17, 2006; revised February 12, 2007. ROW structure. Furthermore, the spectral filtering properties of
R. Bernini is with the Istituto per il Rilevamento Elettromagnetico
dellAmbiente (IREA) of the National Research Council (IREA-CNR), 80124 these waveguides will be discussed and demonstrated.
Naples, Italy (e-mail: bernini.r@irea.cnr.it).
E. De Nuccio, A. Minardo, and L. Zeni are with the Seconda Uni-
II. THEORETICAL ANALYSIS
versit`a di Napoli, 81031 Aversa, Italy (e-mail: elbano.denuccio@unina2.it;
aldo.minardo@unina2.it; zeni@unina.it).
P. M. Sarro is with the Electronic Components, Materials and Technol-
A. 2-D Hollow ARROW
ogy Laboratory, Delft Institute of Microelectronics and Submicrontechnology Fig. 1 shows the cross section of the 2-D hollow-core
(ECTM-DIMES), Delft University of Technology, 2600 Delft, The Netherlands
(e-mail: sarro@dimes.tudelft.nl). ARROW waveguide considered in this paper. Two halves com-
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/JSTQE.2007.894054 pose the waveguide. On both the halves, two dielectric layers

1077-260X/$25.00 2007 IEEE

BERNINI et al.: 2-D MMI DEVICES BASED ON INTEGRATED HOLLOW ARROW WAVEGUIDES 195

of silicon nitride (first cladding) and silicon dioxide (second This approach permits to decompose the 2-D problem in two
cladding) are deposited on a silicon substrate, having thick- 1-D problems and to add the resulting 1-D losses.
nesses of d1 and d2 , respectively. The light propagates through
the core, whose refractive index nc is lower than that of the B. 2-D Self-Imaging Properties
surrounding media, by repeated reflections from interference
The generic optical field i , at the input of a 2-D multimode
cladding layers representing FabryPerot mirrors. The reflec-
waveguide and totally contained in the core region, can be ex-
tivity of the mirror can be very close to unity, provided that the
pressed as the weighed sum of all the guided modes of the
thicknesses of the interference cladding layers d1,2 satisfy the
structure. The field profile at a distance z in the waveguide can
antiresonant condition, which corresponds to the antiresonant
be expressed as [7]
state of a FabryPerot resonator. 
By considering the equivalent 1-D vertical structure, when the (x, y, z) = clm lm (x, y) ejl m z (5)
core dimension is much greater than the operating wavelength l m
(Wx , Wy
), the optimum thicknesses d1,2 can be written
where lm (x, y) is the field distribution of the mode of order
as [12]

(l, m), clm is the amplitude coefficient of the mode of order
 2 1/2 (l, m), and lm is the propagation constant of the mode (l, m).
nc
d1,2 1 (2N + 1) N = 0, 1, 2, . . . The amplitude coefficients can be evaluated, owing to the mode
4n1,2 n1,2
orthogonality, by using overlap integrals
(1)
where is the operating wavelength, n1 , n2, and nc are the  +
+ 
refractive indexes of the first cladding, the second cladding, and i lm (x, y)dx dy

the core, respectively. clm = (6)
 +
+ 
An exact analytical solution of the wave equation for these |lm (x, y)|2 dx dy
waveguides is not possible. However, in a paraxial approxima-

tion, the (l, m)-th mode can be approximated in the core region Similarly to the one-dimensional case, it is possible to intro-
as products of sine functions [13] duce two beating lengths in the x- and y-directions expressed in
    the form [7]
(2l + 1) (2m + 1)
lm (x, y)=cos xl x cos ym y ,
2 2 Lx = and Ly = . (7)
00 10 00 01
l, m (0, 1, 2, . . .); x, y (0, Wx,y ) (2)
Using (4) for a hollow-core ARROW, (7) can be approximated
where xl and ym are the propagation constants along x- and as
y-directions, respectively, and can be approximated by
4Wx2 4Wy2
(l + 1) (m + 1) Lx and Ly . (8)
xl = and ym = (3) 3 3
Wx Wy
Substituting (8) in (5), and supposing that a symmetric input field
where Wx and Wy are the guide thicknesses in x- and distribution is centered along both the x- and y-axes of the MMI,
y-directions, respectively. We note that, due to the confinement it is possible to find the following self-imaging condition [7]:
mechanism in this waveguide, no GoosHanchen shift occurs at
3Px Lx 3Py Ly
the boundary interfaces; thus, the effective thickness is equal z= = (9)
to the physical thickness. 4Nx 4Ny
ARROW are leaky waveguides and, for this reason, each where z is the distance at which we get the Nx images of the
mode is characterized by a complex propagation constant, where input field in x-direction and Ny images in the y-direction, while
the real part represents the guiding properties and the imaginary Px and Py are two integers, not necessarily equal, depending on
part is the attenuation coefficient of the modal fields. the waveguide geometry [7].
The real part of the propagation constant of the (l, m)-th mode For a square waveguide (Wx = Wy ), N = Nx = Ny and
r
lm is approximately given by [14] Px = Py = 1 (shortest device), and (9) can be simplified as

 2  2 
1 xl ym Wx2
lm k0 nc 1
r
+ (4) z= . (10)
2 k0 nc k0 nc N
The above analysis permits a simple and fast determination
where k0 = 2/.
of the MMI properties of 2-D ARROW, and can be usefully
In order to evaluate the imaginary part of the propagation
i applied in the waveguide design.
constant lm , we use the results exposed in [15] where the at-
tenuation coefficient of TE and TM modes of a planar ARROW
are reported. When considering a 2-D structure, the overall prop- III. WAVEGUIDE FABRICATION
agation losses for TE-polarized input light can be regarded as the The hollow-core ARROW waveguide is fabricated by using
combination of the TE contribution for the vertical confinement two silicon wafers. The channels are formed by deep silicon dry
and the TM contribution for the horizontal confinement [16]. etching of the bottom wafer, followed by a plasma-enhanced
196 IEEE JOURNAL OF SELECTED TOPICS IN QUANTUM ELECTRONICS, VOL. 13, NO. 2, MARCH/APRIL 2007
Fig. 2. Experimental setup for observing 2-D MMI imaging.
Fig. 3. CCD-captured output intensity distribution with image matrices (a) 1 1 and (b) 2 2.
chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) deposition of silicon diox-
ide and silicon nitride at the temperature of 450 C on both
wafers.
After the deposition, the two wafers are joined by silicon-
nitride wafer bonding or gluing. The thicknesses of the cladding
layers are d1 = 288 nm (N = 1) and d2 = 155 nm (N = 0),
according to the antiresonant condition (1) at = 670 nm
and nc = 1, n1 = 2.01, and n2 = 1.47. The final result is a
130 m 130 m square-core hollow waveguide.
The used PECVD deposition is characterized by a step
coverage factor dmin /dmax equal to 0.7, where dmin and
dmax are the film thicknesses on the sidewall and on the top
surface, respectively. This difference in thickness, which can
apparently pose a problem, actually reduces the issue related
to the optimal TM-mode propagation condition that requires
different thicknesses of the cladding layers, when the core
refractive index of the ARROW waveguide is equal to 1 [16].
The choice of a large (130 m 130 m) square-core di-
mension permits a simple self-aligned optical coupling by the
insertion of a single-mode optical fiber (125-m cladding diam-
eter) directly inside the core of the hollow waveguide.
The fabricated ARROW are 3-cm long, and exhibit a large
antiresonant region (about 200 nm), centered around 730 nm
where the optical losses reach a minimum.
IV. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
A. Self-Imaging in ARROW
In this section, we examine the self-imaging phenomenon in
the hollow-core ARROW waveguide. Fig. 2 shows the schematic
drawing of the experimental setup for 2-D MMI-imaging mea-
surements. A single-mode fiber-pigtailed laser diode at =
635 nm is employed.
The excitation fiber (4.3-m mode field diameter (MFD)
and 125-m cladding diameter) is inserted into the hollow-core
of the waveguide by using a three-axis positioner. By moving
the excitation fiber while keeping the hollow waveguide fixed,
it is possible to precisely control the input injection position
along the z-axis. Using this method of scanning, we can
easily measure the waveguide output field profile at different
waveguide lengths by changing the distance between the fiber
tip and the hollow waveguide outlet.
BERNINI et al.: 2-D MMI DEVICES BASED ON INTEGRATED HOLLOW ARROW WAVEGUIDES
Fig. 4. Simulated output intensity distribution with image matrices (a) 1 1 and (b) 2 2 with a perfectly centered input field.
Fig. 5. Simulated output power distribution with image matrices (a) 1 1 and (b) 2 2 with an input field displacement of 2.5 m with respect to the center of
both x- and y-axes.
The image formed at the output waveguide facet is projected
through a 40 microscope objective on a charge coupled device
(CCD) camera. A polarizer was placed between the CCD camera
and the objective, by setting the TE-polarization condition along
the x-axis.
In Fig. 3, the captured images for the 1 1 (z = 26250 m)
and 2 2 (z = 13587 m) self-imaging conditions are reported.
The images show a good contrast. For comparison, a numeri-
cal simulation is performed by using the results reported in
Section II. The corresponding N N self-images calculated at
the z position given by (10) are shown in Fig. 4. The overlap
coefficients were calculated using (6). A Gaussian beam, with
an MFD of 4.3 m, exiting from the single-mode optical fiber
is considered as the excitation field.
By comparing the captured images to the simulated ones, we
note a good agreement as far as the position of the spots is con-
197
cerned, but we also observe a decreased image resolution (broad-
ening of the spot dimensions) and a small imperfection. These
phenomena can be explained taking into account the waveguide
dimension uncertainty due to the fabrication process, which are
not included in the previous analysis, and the misalignment of
the input field that is not perfectly centered with respect to both
x- and y-axes. In fact, if the waveguide is not perfectly square,
(10) would no longer be valid resulting in a distorted image.
On the other hand, the misalignment of the excitation field can
be understood by considering the difference between the fiber
dimension (125 m) and the channel dimension (130 m). Both
these effects induce a decrease in the image resolution [17],
whereas the input field misalignment also induces some image
artifacts.
In order to validate the last hypothesis, we repeated the simu-
lations exciting the waveguide with an input field displacement
198 IEEE JOURNAL OF SELECTED TOPICS IN QUANTUM ELECTRONICS, VOL. 13, NO. 2, MARCH/APRIL 2007

Fig. 6. CCD-captured output intensity distribution with image matrices (a) 3 3 and (b) 4 4.

Fig. 7. CCD-captured output intensity distribution with image matrices (a) 5 5 and (b) 6 6.

of 2.5 m with respect to the center of both x- and y-axes. The 60 C using a Peltier cell. No appreciable variations are observed
results are reported in Fig. 5. It can be seen that the accordance in the output image.
with the experimental results is strongly improved.
In Figs. 6 and 7, the captured images for the 3 3 (z = B. Spectral Characterization
8880 m) and 44 (z = 6515 m), and 55 (z = 5110 m)
As a further characterization of the device, we investigate its
and 6 6 (z = 4225 m) self-imaging conditions are reported,
spectral filtering capability. For this purpose, the experimental
respectively. Also, in these cases, a nonperfect symmetry of the
setup shown in Fig. 1 is slightly modified by replacing the laser
input can be assumed to be responsible for some degradation of
diode with a white light lamp. Moreover, a single-mode fiber,
the image contrast.
identical to the input one, is inserted into the waveguide output
In order to further evaluate the accuracy of the theoretical
in order to collect and deliver the output radiation to a CCD
analysis in Section II, the value of the predicted self-imaging
spectrometer. The transmitted spectra are measured by changing
distances (10) and the measured ones are reported in Fig. 8. It is
the distance Lf between the two fiber tips.
possible to notice that these measured lengths are very close to
The transmitted spectrum can be evaluated using (5). In par-
the analytical predictions, which can represent a good starting
ticular, the field in the collecting fiber is given by
point in the device design.

Finally, the MMI-waveguide temperature sensitivity is ana- o (Lf ) = clm dlm i ejl m Lf (11)
lyzed. The temperature of the waveguide is raised from 25 C to l m
BERNINI et al.: 2-D MMI DEVICES BASED ON INTEGRATED HOLLOW ARROW WAVEGUIDES
Fig. 8. N N self-image versus the theoretical (o) and measured (+) self-
imaging length.
Fig. 9. Normalized transmitted spectrum for Lf = 23300 m.
where dlm represent the overlap coefficients between the modes
of the ARROW waveguide and the field of the single-mode
collecting fiber, and are given by
 +
+ 
lm (x, y) i dx dy
dlm = . (12)
 +
+  2
|i | dx dy
and the input field misalignment described in Section IV-A.
In Fig. 9, the normalized transmitted spectrum for Lf =
23300 m is reported. The device exhibits a narrow-bandpass
spectral behavior that can be easily explained taking into account
the self-imaging principle. In fact, according to (11), the trans-
mitted intensity at a fixed wavelength depends on the overlap
between the field of the multimode ARROW at z = Lf and the
modal field of the collecting single-mode fiber. The maximum
overlap is reached at the wavelength 1 = Wx2 /Lf [see (10)],
for which a single image of the input field is obtained. In Fig. 10,
the predicted theoretical spectrum in the same conditions is re-
199
Fig. 10. Simulated normalized transmitted spectrum: perfectly centered input
field (solid line); input field displaced of +2.5 m with respect to both x- and
y-axes center, and collecting fiber displaced by 2.5 m with respect both to x
and y-axes center (dashed line).
Fig. 11. Normalized transmitted spectra as a function of Lf ranging from
23300 to 27300 m with a step of 250 m.
ported. As it can be observed, the shape of the measured trans-
mitted spectrum is in qualitative agreement with the simulated
one, but the full-width-half-maximum (FWHM) bandwidth is
slightly broader than the simulated one. This can be explained
taking into account the waveguide dimension uncertainty
We repeat the simulations exciting the waveguide with an input
field displacement of +2.5 m with respect to the center of
both x- and y-axes, whereas the collecting fiber is displaced by
2.5 m with respect to the same. The result is also reported
in Fig. 10. As it is evident from the figure, there is an increase
in FWHM that, in this case, is larger than that of the measured
one as well as an increase in the sidelobes level.
By increasing the distance Lf between the fibers, the peak of
the transmitted spectrum shifts toward lower wavelengths, veri-
fying the single imaging condition. This phenomenon is clearly
200 IEEE JOURNAL OF SELECTED TOPICS IN QUANTUM ELECTRONICS, VOL. 13, NO. 2, MARCH/APRIL 2007
Fig. 12. Measured (o) and theoretical (solid line) peak wavelengths as a func-
tion of the distance Lf between the fiber tips.
Fig. 13. FWHM bandwidth values of the transmitted spectra as a function of
the peak wavelength: measured data (+); simulated with a perfect symmetric
input (o); simulated with an input field displacement of +2.5 m with respect
to both x- and y-axes center, and the collecting fiber is displaced by 2.5 m
with respect both to x- and y-axes center (
).
shown in Fig. 11, where the normalized transmitted spectra are
reported for Lf ranging from 23300 to 27300 m with a step
of 250 m. In Fig. 12, we report the measured and theoret-
ical peak wavelengths as a function of the distance Lf . The
measurements are in good agreement with the simulations. Fi-
nally, in Fig. 13, the measured FWHM bandwidth values of the
transmitted spectra, as a function of the peak wavelength, are
shown. As it can be seen, the FWHM value slightly decreases
as the peak wavelength decreases. In Fig. 13, the simulated
FWHM values for the perfect and nonperfect symmetric input
are also reported. By comparing the experimental results to the
simulated ones, we can note that the values of the measured
data fall within the theoretical ones, still in agreement with the
misalignment problem explained earlier.
V. CONCLUSION
We have presented an MMI device based on a hollow-core
ARROW waveguide. The choice of the hollow-core ARROW
permits to reduce some fundamental limitations associated with
the propagation of light through solids, thus, enhancing the
performance of the device. The experimental results on the
self-imaging phenomenon show a good image quality and a
good agreement with the 2-D MMI ARROW analytical analy-
sis. Finally, the spectral filtering capability of the device has been
investigated by measuring the transmission spectrum. The de-
vice shows a narrow transmission bandwidth (FWHM 11 nm)
that can be tuned by simply changing the distance between the
input and the output fiber.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors would like to thank the IC Process Group of
DIMES for technical assistance.
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BERNINI et al.: 2-D MMI DEVICES BASED ON INTEGRATED HOLLOW ARROW WAVEGUIDES
Romeo Bernini (M00) received the Laurea degree (summa cum laude) from
the University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy, and the Ph.D. degree from
the Second University of Naples, Aversa, Italy, in electronic engineering, in
1995 and 1999, respectively.
He was with the Delft Institute of Microelectronics and Submicrontech-
nology, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands, in 1999. He
was a Research Fellow with the Second University of Naples in 2000. He is
currently a Research Scientist at the Istituto per il Rilevamento Elettromag-
netico dellAmbiente, National Research Council, Naples. He has authored or
coauthored more than 30 papers published in various international journals.
He is a reviewer for several technical journals. His research interests include
optoelectronic and optofluidic sensors and devices, fiber sensors, and nonde-
structive characterization of semiconductor and dielectric materials.
Dr. Bernini received the Best Doctoral Thesis Award in Optoelectronics of
the IEEE-LEOS Italian Chapter in 2001.
Elbano De Nuccio received the Laurea degree in electronic engineering from
the Seconda Universit`a di Napoli, Aversa, Italy, in 2004, where he is currently
working toward the Ph.D degree in electronic engineering.
His research interests include integrated optoelectronic sensors.
Aldo Minardo was born in Italy in 1974. He received the Laurea degree (summa
cum laude) from the University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy, in 2000
and the Ph.D. degree from the Seconda Universit`a di Napoli, Aversa, Italy, in
electronic engineering, in 2000 and 2003, respectively.
He is currently a Research Fellow at the Second University of Naples. His
current research interests include distributed optical fiber sensors and optoelec-
tronic devices.
201
Luigi Zeni (M99) was born in Italy in 1962. He received the Laurea degree
(summa cum laude) in electronic engineering from the University of Naples,
Naples, Italy, in 1988 and the Ph.D. degree in electronics and computer science
from the Italian Ministry of University, Italy, in 1992.
From 1993 to 1998 he was an Assistant Professor with the University
of Naples. He was a Visiting Scientist with the Delft Institute of Microelec-
tronics and Submicrontechnology, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The
Netherlands, in 1994. Since 1998 he has been an Associate Professor of electron-
ics with the Seconda Universit`a di Napoli, Aversa, Italy. His research interests
include optoelectronic devices and sensors, materials characterization for micro-
electronics and optoelectronics, wide-band contactless techniques for electronic
circuits characterization, and laser beam characterization. He has been a coor-
dinator of research projects financed by the Italian Ministry of University and
Scientific Research. He is a Referee for international journals. He has authored
about 40 papers pubished in international journals and more than 50 papers
published in conference proceedings. He is also a Reviewer of research projects
of the Italian Ministry of University and Scientific Research and the European
Union.
Dr. Zeni is a member of the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials.
International and the Italian Electrotechnical and Electronic Association.
Pasqualina M. Sarro (M84SM97) received the Laurea degree in solid-states
physics from the University of Naples, Naples, Italy, in 1980 and the Ph.D. de-
gree in electrical engineering from the Delft University of Technology, Delft,
The Netherlands, in 1987.
From 1981 to 1983 she was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Photovoltaic Re-
search Group of the Division of Engineering, Brown University, Providence,
RI, where she carried on research on thin-film photovoltaic cell fabrication by
chemical spray pyrolysis. She joined the Delft Institute of Microelectronics and
Submicron Technology, Delft University of Technology, in 1988, where she has
been a Full Professor in the Electronic Components, Materials and Technology
Laboratory since December 2001. Her current research interests include inte-
grated silicon sensors and microelectromechanical sytems technology. She has
authored and coauthored more than 200 papers published in various journals
and conference proceedings. She is a Reviewer of several technical journals.
Prof. Sarro has been a technical program committee member of the ESS-
DERC Conferences since 1995 and EUROSENSORS Conferences since 1999.
She was the Technical Program Co-Chair for the IEEE Sensors 2002 Conference.