Proposal for high efficiently 1 x 4 power splitter based on photonic crystal waveguides

We proposed a new kind of 1 x 4 optical power splitter composed of one input photonic crystal (PC) waveguide (PCW) and two PC branches with a triangular lattice of air holes. By employing the coupling between a defect region and one input, four output PCWs, the input power can be efficiently split into four output ports. The total transmittance as high as 99.4% at the wavelength 1550 nm is achieved. By modifying two holes at junction area, the input power can be almost evenly split into four parts with a bandwidth larger than 80 nm. It provides a new method and a compact model to split input power into multiple output ports in PCW devices and may find practical applications in future photonic integrated circuits.