Loss optimization of transverse Bragg resonance waveguides

Coupled-mode theory was used to analyze guiding in a transverse Bragg resonance (TBR) waveguide structure composed of a GaAs substrate with air holes. This analysis predicts that propagation loss will be minimized for discrete widths of the waveguide core. Although the coupled-mode theory is normally applied to structures with small index perturbations, two-dimensional finite-difference time-domain simulations of the TBR waveguide show good quantitative agreement with the coupled-mode predictions, and these results corroborate the previously predicted existence of discrete core widths for low-loss propagation.