Polarization-analyzing circuit on InP for integrated Stokes vector receiver.

Stokes vector modulation and direct detection (SVM/DD) has immense potentiality to reduce the cost burden for the next-generation short-reach optical communication networks. In this paper, we propose and demonstrate an InGaAsP/InP waveguide-based polarization-analyzing circuit for an integrated Stokes vector (SV) receiver. By transforming the input state-of-polarization (SOP) and projecting its SV onto three different vectors on the Poincare sphere, we show that the actual SOP can be retrieved by simple calculation. We also reveal that this projection matrix has a flexibility and its deviation due to device imperfectness can be calibrated to a certain degree, so that the proposed device would be fundamentally robust against fabrication errors. A proof-of-concept photonic integrated circuit (PIC) is fabricated on InP by using half-ridge waveguides to successfully demonstrate detection of different SOPs scattered on the Poincare sphere.