Embedded metal-wire nanograting and its application in an optical polarization beam splitter/combiner

What we believe to be a new type of embedded metal-wire nanograting is fabricated, in which the metal wires are embedded under the trenches of the substrate, and a cladding layer is deposited on the surface of the trenches to protect the metal-wire grating. The substrate of the nanograting is antireflectively coated to further increase the performance of the device. This novel embedded nanograting has a high extinction ratio, low insertion loss for optical communication wavelengths, and good wearability for practical applications. This kind of metal-wire nanograting is attractive as a polarizing beam splitter or combiner to construct various optical devices. By using this newly developed kind of nanograting, a polarization beam splitter/combiner with good performance is fabricated. (C) 2008 Optical Society of America.