A detailed analysis of the polarization characteristics (birefringence) of a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) rib waveguide is given. The fundamental TE- and TM-polarized modes of the SOI rib waveguide are calculated by a semivectorial finite-difference method. The rib width and the slab height of the SOI rib waveguide are normalized with respect to the total height of the silicon layer. A general relation between the two normalized parameters for a nonbirefringent SOI rib waveguide is obtained. According to this relation a nonbirefringent SOI rib waveguide can easily be designed. The fabrication tolerance for a nonbirefringent SOI rib waveguide is also analyzed, revealing that the tolerance can be increased by use of a larger total height of the silicon layer.
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