Efficiency Comparison of Directional Optical Couplers in Thin Glass Sheets Manufactured by a Field-Assisted Diffusion Process

Two integrated directional couplers for simultaneous bidirectional data transmission are presented and compared with respect to coupling efficiency. The couplers are manufactured in thin glass sheets by a field-assisted diffusion process, which enables the embedding in Electro-Optical Printed Circuit Boards (EOPCBs). The efficiency of the designed structures respecting both transmission directions is analyzed with a geometrical optics algorithm. Furthermore, several optimization approaches are applied.