r/SiliconPhotonics

Hey guys I need some advice breaking into the silicon photonics space and need advice.

I’m in the final year of my PhD where my expertise involves free space and fiber based optics, RF and optical signal generation and synchronization, and free space-fiber experimental design. I also have the theoretical knowledge of classical and quantum optics background needed to simulate and calculate the theoretical values from the experiments I run.

However, I’m trying to pivot into the PIC sector after the PhD. I’m able to understand the physics and results from PIC papers but lack the hands on expertise: silicon waveguide fabrication, using Lumerical to simulate light behavior in silicon waveguides, etc. How would you advise I break into this space preferably in industry?

Hello everyone,

I am trying to simulate a subwavelength grating (SWG) waveguide (see attached figure).

My goal is to calculate:

• The effective index neff of the TE mode
• The group index ng
• Most importantly, the bandgap (dispersion diagram) properties of the waveguide, as shown in the attached figure

Unfortunately, I am not very familiar with this type of simulation, and I am unsure how to calculate these parameters for a waveguide whose structure varies along the propagation direction.

For conventional waveguides, I know that mode solvers can be used to calculate parameters such as neff and ng. However, for subwavelength grating waveguides, I am not sure what the correct approach is or which simulation methods/tools are typically used.

Any guidance, recommended methods, or references would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance for your help!

https://preview.redd.it/41u9bza59p0h1.png?width=347&format=png&auto=webp&s=7f045021eea4701ea73ff934e905bcf69e0ae6f4

https://preview.redd.it/jzupcx0e9p0h1.png?width=575&format=png&auto=webp&s=86ce8dcee2c95e3a1a76617ec72b3ab7a51bb61c