Mach-Zehnder Interferometer · 1550 nm

This Mach-Zehnder interferometer is designed on a silicon photonics (SOI) platform to minimize insertion loss at a 1550 nm operating wavelength. Analytic estimates indicate a transmission efficiency of 94.4%, equivalent to an insertion loss of 0.252 dB (the same transmission expressed two ways), over a bandwidth of 8.2 nm within a compact 108 × 59.75 µm footprint. The device employs a 28 µm path-length imbalance between its arms, making it wavelength-selective with the bandwidth set by the free-spectral-range, and uses a 10:90 split ratio. Key layout parameters include a 0.5 µm waveguide width, 0.24 µm coupler gap, 6.5 µm coupling length, 10 µm bend radius, and a 17 µm phase-shifter length. With a fabrication score of 94.7/100, the design shows strong manufacturability for the intended low-loss application.