Bernardo Andrés Gargallo Jaquotot

The present PhD thesis deals on the model, design and experimental demonstration of Arrayed Waveguide Grating (AWG) with advanced features.

Firstly, building upon existing AWG formulations, design equations are provided, libraries developed and all this is experimentally validated with devices in Indium Phosphide (InP) and Silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technologies. Next, a model and experimental validation is reported for an Interleave-Chirped Arrayed Waveguide Grating (IC-AWG), which is able to process optical signals as WDM demultiplexer, polarization splitter and phase diversity component all in a single device. This device was fabricated and tested in InP technology. The second innovative AWG demonstrated in this thesis, a Reflective type (R-AWG), whose layout allows for tailoring the pass-band shape and to change the spectral resolution. A demonstration of design and fabrication for this device is provided in SOI technology. The last AWG with innovative concepts is one driven by Surface Acoustic Waves (AWG-SAW), where the spectral channels can be tuned by means of acousto-optic effect. The device was fabricated in Aluminium Gallium Arsenide (AlGaAs) technology, and measurements are provided to validate the concept and design flow.

In parallel this thesis has resulted in the development of different AWG layouts for a wide number of (generic) technologies and foundries, coded into design libraries, of use in a de-facto standard software employed for the design of photonic integrated circuits. These design libraries have been licensed to the UPV spin-off company VLC Photonics S.L.