Chinese Optics Letters, Volume. 24, Issue 1, (2026)
Low-Loss, Low-Crosstalk Polarization-Independent Lithium Niobate Crossing Waveguide Based on Multimode Interference Coupling Principle [Early Posting]
Lithium niobate (LN) integrated crossing waveguides are essential components in photonic integrated circuits. However, the refractive index tensor of lithium niobate and the asymmetry of waveguides lead to polarization-dependent performance of LN crossing waveguides. In this letter, a polarization-independent lithium niobate crossing waveguide on the lithium niobate-on-insulator platform is proposed and demonstrated by using the multimode interference coupling principle. Experimental results show that the proposed device exhibits low insertion losses (<-0.96 dB), with crosstalk below -37 dB over the wavelength range of 1480–1640 nm. The proposed device significantly enhances the on-chip density of lithium niobate-based photonic interconnection networks.