DESIGN AND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OF 1-BY-64 MULTIMODE INTERFERENCE POWER SPLITTER FOR OPTICAL COMMUNICATIONS

A 1-by-64 multimode interference power splitter in SiO2 has been desig ned for use in fiber-optics communication systems. The splitter exhibi ts a minimum loss of 0.5 dB and a uniformity of 1.7 dB at a wavelength of 1.55 mu m. The polarization sensitivity is below 0.14 dB, the refl ection level below -55 dB, and the optical bandwidth 30 nm, The fabric ation tolerances are +/-0.1 mm on the length and +/-3.5 mu m on the wi dth of the multimode section of the splitter. In comparison with a bra nching-type splitter it is found that the designed device is approxima tely 30% shorter than the branching-type device for comparable losses.