1554 J. Opt. Soc. Am. B / Vol. 18, No. 11 / November 2001 Wang et al.

Phase jump in an optical directional coupler

Youfa Wang, Ching-Kwang Lee, and Jinlu Kuang

School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798

Received March 13, 2000; revised manuscript received November 27, 2000
The phase jumps in a linear coupler and a nonlinear coherent coupler are demonstrated analytically. The
theoretical results show that slight changes in the ratio of input powers or a mismatch in the linear coupler
slight changes in the input power in the nonlinear coupler can lead to a phase shift of ␲. This characteristic
of the coupler may lead to electro-optical switching with an ultralow switching voltage or to all-optical switch-
ing with low switching power. © 2001 Optical Society of America
OCIS codes: 060.1810, 190.4360, 230.4320.

1. INTRODUCTION
The coupled-mode theory is of fundamental importance
for design and understanding of fiber devices, electro-
optical devices, nonlinear all-optical devices, and acousto-
optic devices based on the coupling mechanism.1–7 In the
past decades, the optical directional coupler was exten-
sively studied, and many useful devices have been sug-
gested and demonstrated experimentally.8,9 Many of
them have been utilized in practical communication sys-
tems and in laboratory research. Most of the devices are
based on power-coupling characteristics; a few of them,
such as fiber loop reflectors10 and fiber oscillators,11 are
based on both power-coupling characteristics and phase-
shift characteristics in the directional coupler. Nonlinear
optical waveguide-directional couplers (NLDC’s) that use
the coherent interaction of two optical beams in
waveguides placed in close proximity have stimulated a
great deal of research interest12–17 since that interaction
was reported in 1982.18 These waveguides periodically
exchange power in the linear coupling regime because of
the evanescent field overlap. When the input power is
strong enough, nonlinear interactions modify the ex-
change of power and lead to strong nonlinear transmis-
sion characteristics.12,18 These characteristics may be
used in optical signal-processing applications. Many in-
teresting applications such as all-optical switching,19 all-
optical digital switching and limiting,20 basic all-optical
logic operations,21 and all-optical bistability22 have been
proposed based on the nonlinear coupling characteristics.
Ultrafast all-optical switching in nonlinear fiber couplers,
nonlinear waveguide-directional couplers, and two-
cascaded directional couplers has been reported
experimentally.23–25
We have examined the phase-shift characteristics in-
duced by coupling in both linear and nonlinear directional
couplers. Under certain input conditions, both the linear
and the nonlinear directional couplers exhibit the charac-
teristic of a ␲ phase jump. Based on this phenomenon,
the use of an electro-optical switch with ultralow switch-
ing voltage was suggested.
2. THEORY
Coupled-mode theory has been proved to be a simple and
reliable means for describing the operation of both linear
and nonlinear couplers with sufficiently well-separated
waveguides.1–4,12,18 The coupled equations for the slowly
varying mode complex amplitudes a 1,2 of individual
waveguides read as1,12,18
da 1
⫺i ⫽ ␤ 1 a 1 ⫹ Ca 2 ⫹ Q 1 兩 a 1 兩 2 a 1 ⫹ i ␴ a 1 , (1a)
dz
da 2
⫺i ⫽ ␤ 2 a 2 ⫹ Ca 1 ⫹ Q 2 兩 a 2 兩 2 a 2 ⫹ i ␴ a 2 , (1b)
dz
where ␤ 1 and ␤ 2 are the propagation constants of
waveguides 1 and 2, respectively, ␴ is the attenuation con-
stant, C is the linear coupling coefficient constant, and Q 1
and Q 2 are the nonlinear self-coupling coefficients of
waveguides 1 and 2, respectively, as defined by Eq. (3) of
Ref. 12.
Hardy and Streifer5 and Marcatili6 have shown that
the coupled equations (1) should be improved when the
two waveguides are not matched. However, no modifica-
tion in Eqs. (1) is needed here because we have concen-
trated only on the matched coupler and the slightly mis-
matched coupler.6
B. Phase-Shift Characteristics in the Linear Coupler
In the linear limit, we have Q 1 ⫽ Q 2 ⫽ 0. Let a m
⫽ b m exp(⫺z␴), (m ⫽ 1, 2). Equations (1) can be re-
duced to
db 1
⫺i ⫽ ␤ 1 b 1 ⫹ Cb 2 , (2a)
dz
db 2
⫺i ⫽ ␤ 2 b 2 ⫹ Cb 1 , (2b)
dz
where b 1 (z) and b 2 (z) are the normalized mode complex
amplitudes in the two waveguides. Obviously, the loss
does not affect the coupling behaviors in the linear cou-

0740-3224/2001/111554-09$15.00 © 2001 Optical Society of America

Wang et al. Vol. 18, No. 11 / November 2001 / J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 1555

pler. The coupling system described by Eqs. (2) is a con-

servative system, and the solution of Eqs. (2) can be found
in some books.8,9 To obtain the phase-shift characteris-
␣ 1共 Z 兲 ⫽ 冑1 ⫹ ␦ 2 Z ⫹ 冉 ␣0 ⫺
␲
2
冊 ,

tics of the beam in the coupler, we make the following

substitutions:
b m ⫽ A m exp关 j ␤ m z ⫹ j ␾ m 共 z 兲兴 , (3)
␣ 2共 Z 兲 ⫽ 冑1 ⫹ ␦ 2 Z ⫾ 冉 ␣0 ⫹
␲
2
冊 ,

where m ⫽ 1, 2. A 1 , A 2 , ␾ 1 , and ␾ 2 are the real func- 关共 1 ⫹ ␥ 兲 2 ⫹ 4 ␦ ¯ ¯ 2 兴 1/2

⌫共 1 ⫹ ␥ 兲 ⫺ 4⌫
H⫽ P 1共 0 兲 .
tions of z. ␾ 1 and ␾ 2 are, respectively, the phases of 2共 1 ⫹ ␦ 2兲
beams propagating in waveguides 1 and 2 which are in-
duced by coupling. ␣ 1,2(Z) takes a plus only when sin ␸0 ⬎ 0; otherwise it
Substituting Eq. (3) into Eqs. (2) gives takes a minus. From Eqs. (4c) and (5), the differential
equations for the phase shift of the beam in waveguides 1
dA 1 and 2 can be given as
⫽ CA 2 sin共 ␸ ⫹ ⌬z 兲 , (4a)
dz d␾ 1 共 Z 兲 ⌫ ␦
⫽ ⫺ , (8a)
dA 2 dZ 2P 1 2
⫽ ⫺CA 1 sin共 ␸ ⫹ ⌬z 兲 , (4b)
dz
d␾ 2 共 Z 兲 ⌫ ⫺ ␦Pt ␦
d␾ 1 ⫽ ⫹ . (8b)
dZ 2P 2 2
A1 ⫽ CA 2 cos共 ␸ ⫹ ⌬z 兲 , (4c)
dz
Substituting Eq. (7) into Eq. (8) and integrating yield
d␾ 2
A2 ⫽ CA 1 cos共 ␸ ⫹ ⌬z 兲 , (4d) ␾ 1共 Z 兲 ⫺ ␾ 1共 0 兲

再 冋 册
dz
␣ 1共 Z 兲
where ⌬ ⫽ ␤ 1 ⫺ ␤ 2 and ␸ ⫽ ␾ 1 ⫺ ␾ 2 . ⫽ sign共 ⌫ 兲 tan⫺1 P a tan
Using Eqs. (4), we obtain two conservative quantities in 2

冋 册 冎
the linear coupling system described by Eqs. (2):
␣ 1共 0 兲 ␦
Pt ⫽ P1 ⫹ P2 , (5a) ⫺ tan⫺1 P a tan ⫹ N 1␲ ⫺ Z, (9a)
2 2
⌫ ⫽ A 1 A 2 cos共 ␸ ⫹ ⌬z 兲 ⫹ ␦ A 1 2 , (5b)
␾ 2共 Z 兲 ⫺ ␾ 2共 0 兲
where ␦ ⫽ ⌬/2C is the mismatch between the two
waveguides. P 1 ⫽ A 1 2 and P 2 ⫽ A 2 2 are the normalized
[to exp(⫺2 z␴)] powers of waveguides 1 and 2. P 1 ⫽ P 1
⫹ P 2 is the normalized total power. At z ⫽ 0, we have
再 冋
⫽ sign共 ⌫ ⫺ ␦ P l 兲 tan⫺1 P b tan
␣ 2共 Z 兲
2
册
P 1 (0) ⫽ A 1 2 (0) ⫽ 兩 a 1 (0) 兩 2 and P 2 (0) ⫽ A 2 2 (0)
⫽ 兩 a 2 (0) 兩 ; thus P 1 (0) and P 2 (0) are actually the initial
2

input powers of the coupler and P t is the initial total

冋
⫺ tan⫺1 P b tan
␣ 2共 0 兲
2
册 ⫹ N 2␲ 冎 ⫹
␦
2
Z, (9b)

power. From Eqs. (4a) and (5), the normalized power where

冋 册 冉 冊
evolution along the coupler is
␣ 1,2共 Z 兲 M⫺H 1/2

冉 冊
dP 1 2
⫽ P 1P 2 ⫺ 共 ⌫ ⫺ ␦ P 1 兲, (6)
N 1,2 ⫽ int
2␲
⫹ 0.5 , Pa ⫽
M⫹H
,

dZ
where Z (⫽2Cz) is the normalized longitudinal coordi-
nate z.
Conservation quantity ⌫ can be determined from the
initial inputs, and ⌫ ⫽ 关 P 1 (0)P 2 (0) 兴 1/2 cos ␸0 ⫹ ␦P1(0),
where ␸ 0 is the initial phase difference.26 When P 1 (0)
⫽ 0, ⌫ can be rewritten as ⌫ ⫽ ( 冑␥ cos ␸0 ⫹ ␦ )P1(0)
⫽ ¯⌫P 1 (0) and ␥ ⫽ P 2 (0)/P 1 (0). Solving Eq. (6) yields
powers in waveguides 1 and 2 of
P 1 共 Z 兲 ⫽ M ⫹ H cos ␣ 1 共 Z 兲 , (7a)
P 1 共 Z 兲 ⫽ P t ⫺ M ⫹ H cos ␣ 2 共 Z 兲 , (7b)
where
冉 冊
Pt ⫺ M ⫺ H 1/2
Pb ⫽ .
Pt ⫺ M ⫹ H
We proved Eqs. (9) by integrating Eqs. (8) directly. It
is obvious that the phase shift induced by the linear cou-
pling is independent of the total input power and the loss
but is dependent on the ratio of the initial inputs. It can
also been seen from Eqs. (9) that the phase shift ␾ m (Z)
⫺ ␾ m (0) (m ⫽ 1, 2) will suffer a jump near ␣ m (Z c )
⫽ (2k ⫹ 1) ␲ , k ⫽ 0, ⫾1, ⫾2,... . Here Z c is the critical
jump length, and we are interested only in the shortest
coupling length Z c .
For ␦ ⫽ 0 we have

1 ⫹ ␥ ⫹ 2 ␦ ¯⌫ 1⫹␥
M⫽ P 1共 0 兲 , M⫽ P 1共 0 兲 ,
2共 1 ⫹ ␦ 2兲 2

␣ 0 ⫽ sin⫺1 冋 P 1共 0 兲 ⫺ M
H
, 册 ␲ ␲
⫺ ⭐ ␣0 ⭐ ,
2 2
H⫽
关共 1 ⫹ ␥ 兲 2 ⫺ 4 ␥ cos2 ␸ 0 兴 1/2
2
P 1共 0 兲 ,
1556 J. Opt. Soc. Am. B / Vol. 18, No. 11 / November 2001 Wang et al.

should be noted that the phase suffers a jump of ␲ only

Fig. 1. Phase shift induced by coupling as a function of the
length of the linear matched coupler. Solid curve, P 2 (0)/P 1 (0)
⫽ 10, ␸ 0 ⫽ ⫺0.495␲ ; long dashed curve, P 2 (0)/P 1 (0) ⫽ 1, ␸ 0
⫽ ⫺0.495␲ ; short-dashed curve, P 2 (0)/P 1 (0) ⫽ 1, ␸0
⫽ 0.495␲ .
when the minimum power of the beam is small enough
but not equal to 0.
Figure 2 shows both phase shifts ␾ 1 (Z) ⫺ ␾ 1 (0) and
␾ 2 (Z) ⫺ ␾ 2 (0), and the normalized power P 1 (Z) and
P 2 (Z) of beam in waveguides 1 and 2 as functions of the
length of the coupler. It can be seen that when ␾ 1 (Z)
⫺ ␾ 1 (0) jumps, P 1 (Z) varies rapidly along the coupler
and that its nonzero minimum, ␾ 2 (Z) ⫺ ␾ 2 (0), is nearly
0; and the normalized power P 2 (Z) varies slowly along
the coupler and is nearly equal to the normalized power
(or the initial total power) P t , as shown in Fig. 2(a). The
initial inputs should ensure that the nonzero minimum of
the power is small enough; otherwise the rate of change of
the phase shift will degrade, as shown in Fig. 2(b).
To confirm the validity of Eqs. (9) we solved linear
coupled equations (2a) and 2(b) by utilizing a well-known
method,1,2 and the solution is given by Eq. (3A) in Appen-
dix A. Figure 3 shows the phase shift. ␾ 1 (Z) ⫺ ␾ 1 (0),
phase arctan兵Im(Ā1(Z)exp关⫺j␾1(0)兴)其/Re兵Ā1 exp关⫺j␾1(0)兴其,
and both the real part Re兵Ā1 exp关⫺j␾1(0)兴其 and the

␣ 0 ⫽ sin⫺1 再 1⫺␥
关共 1 ⫹ ␥ 兲 ⫺ 4 ␥ cos2 ␸ 0 兴 1/2
2 冎 ,
imaginary part Im兵Ā1 exp关⫺j␾1(0)兴其 of the complex
Ā 1 (Z)exp关⫺j␾1(0)兴 as functions of the coupling length.
In Fig. 3 the solid curves correspond to
␲ ␲ arctan (Im兵Ā1(Z)exp关⫺j␾1(0)兴其/Re兵Ā1 exp关⫺j␾1(0)兴其), the
⫺ ⭐ ␣0 ⭐ . (10a) short-dashed curve corresponds to ␾ 1 (Z) ⫺ ␾ 1 (0), and
2 2
the long-dashed curve and the dashed–dotted curve cor-
Then, for waveguide 1, we have respond to Im兵Ā1 exp关⫺j␾1(0)兴其 and Re兵Ā1 exp关⫺j␾1(0)兴其,
respectively. A comparison of the solid curve and the
3␲ short-dashed curve shows that Eqs. (9) agrees with Eq.
Zc ⫽ ⫺ ␣0 , sin ␸ 0 ⬎ 0, (10b) (A3). It is apparent that a phase jump of ␲ takes place at
2
the position where Im兵Ā1 exp关⫺j␾1(0)兴其 ⬇ 0 and that the
␲ sign of Re兵Ā1 exp关⫺j␾1(0)兴其 takes the reverse sign. It is
Zc ⫽ ⫹ ␣0 , sin ␸ 0 ⬍ 0. (10c) also implied that the phase of the beam in waveguide 1
2
suffers a ␲ jump.
It is obvious that, when sin ␸0 ⬎ 0, the critical jump From the above discussion, we can conclude that the
length Z c is longer than when sin ␸0 ⬍ 0, and the critical linear matched coupler exhibits phase-jump characteris-
jump length is dependent only on the phase difference ␸ 0
and ␥. It can also be seen from Eqs. (10a) and (10c) that
critical jump length is Z c when sin ␸0 ⬍ 0 decreases with
an increase of ␥ and that the critical jump length can be
arbitrarily short.
Figure 1 shows the typical phase-shift characteristics
of an optical directional coupler. It is obvious that the
phase shift induced by coupling is a continuous function
of normalized coupling length Z (see the inset of Fig. 1)
and that there is a phase jump of ␲ in the phase shifts
characteristic curves. For the same ratio of input pow-
ers, namely, ␥ ⫽ P 2 (0)/P 1 (0), critical jump length Z c
when ␸ 0 ⬎ 0 is longer than that when ␸ 0 ⬍ 0. For the
same initial phase difference ␸ 0 , Z c decreases with in-
creasing ␥ when ␸ 0 ⬍ 0, as predicted above. It can also
be seen that a slight variation in the length of the coupler
will result in a phase shift of ␲ when the length of the cou-
pler is appropriately chosen.
It can been seen from Eqs. (7) that normalized power
P 1 (Z) is minimum and normalized power P 2 (Z) is maxi-
mum when ␣ 1 (Z) ⫽ (2k ⫹ 1) ␲ , whereas P 2 (Z) is mini-
mum and P 1 (Z) is maximum when ␣ 2 (Z) ⫽ (2k ⫹ 1) ␲ . Fig. 2. Phase-shift ␾ 1 (Z) ⫺ ␾ 1 (0) and normalized power of the
Hence the power of the beam is at its minimum when its beam in waveguide 1 as functions of Z. Solid curves are phase
phase shift induced by coupling suffers a jump of ␲. It curves and dashed curves are power curves.
Wang et al.
Fig. 3. Phase shift ␾ 1 (Z) ⫺ ␾ 1 (0), phase arctan(Im兵⫺A1(Z)
⫻ exp关⫺j␾1(0)兴其/Re兵Ā1 exp关⫺j␾1(0)兴其), and both the real part and
the imaginary part of the complex A 1 (Z)exp关⫺j␾1(0)兴 as function
of Z.
Fig. 4. Influence of the input-power ratio ␥ ⫽ P 2 (0)/P 1 (0) on
the phase-jump characteristics of the linear coupler.
tics. In what follows, we discuss the influence of the pa-
rameters of the coupler on the phase-jump characteris-
tics.
1. Influence of the Initial Inputs on the Phase-Jump
Characteristics
Inasmuch as both ␣ 0 and M/H are independent of the ab-
solute values of inputs P 1 (0) and P 2 (0) but are depen-
dent on initial input-power ratio ␥ ⫽ P 2 (0)/P 1 (0), the
phase-shift characteristics of the linear coupler are de-
pendent only on the ratio ␥. Therefore the fluctuation of
the power will not affect the phase-shift characteristics
when the coupler is excited through a 1 ⫻ 2 splitter cou-
pler. Figure 4 shows the influence of the input-power ra-
tio ␥ ⫽ P 2 (0)/P 1 (0) on the phase-jump characteristics of
the linear coupler, where P 1 (0) is arbitrary. It is clear
that the phase-shift characteristics depend on the rela-
tionship of the two input powers, namely, the ratio ␥
⫽ P 2 (0)/P 1 (0). The critical jump length will decrease
with an increase of input-power ratio ␥, as shown in Fig.
4. Therefore one can also obtain a phase shift of ␲ by ad-
justing the ratio between the two initial inputs.
Vol. 18, No. 11 / November 2001 / J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 1557
2. Influence of the Mismatch on the Phase-Jump
Characteristics
Hardy and Streifer,5 Marcatili,6 and Mercatili et al.7 have
shown that the traditional coupled-mode equations1–4
should be modified to yield more-accurate results when
they are utilized to describe the mismatched linear cou-
pler. When the mismatch between the two coupled
waveguides is small, Eqs. (1) or Eqs. (2) are still reason-
able without modification.6 Here we limit our interest to
the case of slight mismatch.
Figure 5 shows the phase shift, ␾ 1 (Z) ⫺ ␾ 1 (0), and the
output power of the beam in waveguide 1 as functions of
mismatch ␦. It is obvious that a slight mismatch, for ex-
ample, ␦ ⫽ 0.01, can lead to a phase shift of ␲. This
slight mismatch can be induced by a low voltage. There-
fore electro-optical switching with an ultralow switching
voltage is possible. The reduction of the electrical power
comes at the expense of the reducing of the output optical
power, as shown in Fig. 5. It can also be seen that nor-
malized power [to exp(⫺2z␴)] P 1 exhibits rapid changes
for the range ␦ 0 ⭐ ␦ ⭐ 0. However, this drawback can
be overcome by appropriate choice of the operating point
when we utilize the phase-jump characteristic to con-
struct optical switching.
Figure 6 shows a possible electro-optical switching con-
figuration. Couplers A and B are 50:50 couplers, and the
length of both couplers C and D is ␲ /4C. After traveling
through coupler A (B), the beam in waveguide 1 (2) suf-
fers a ␲/2 phase lag in relation to the beam in waveguide
3 (4).
The beams in waveguides 1 and 2 suffer an extra phase
shift, for example, 0.002␲, when the bias voltage is ap-
plied to waveguides 1 and 2. In total, the beam in wave-
Fig. 5. Phase shift ␾ 1 (Z) ⫺ ␾ 1 (0) and the output power of the
beam in waveguide 1 as functions of the mismatch ␦, where the
solid curve is a phase curve and dashed curve is a power curve.
Fig. 6. Electro-optical switching configuration.
1558 J. Opt. Soc. Am. B / Vol. 18, No. 11 / November 2001 Wang et al.

guide 1 (2) will suffer a 0.498␲ phase lag relative to the

beam in waveguide 3 (4). When there is no voltage ap-
plied to coupler C, the beams in arms 1 and 2 of a Mach-
冉 冊
dP n1
dZ
2
⫽ P n1 P n2 ⫺ 共 ⌫ n ⫹ P n2 2 ⫺ P n1 2 兲 2 , (12)

Zehnder interferometer are in phase and have the same d␾ n1 共 Z 兲 1

output power P 0 ; as a result, the output power will be P n1 ⫽ 共 ⌫ n ⫹ P nt 2 兲 ⫹ 2P n1 2 ⫺ P nt P n1 , (13)
dZ 2
2P 0 . It is much lower than the input power, so a fiber
amplifier is necessary. When the voltage applied to cou- d␾ n2 共 Z 兲 1
pler C induces a mismatch of ␦ ⫽ ␦ 0 (see Fig. 5), the beam P n2 ⫽ 共 ⌫ n ⫺ P nt 2 兲 ⫺ 2P n2 2 ⫹ P nt P n2 , (14)
dZ 2
in arm I will suffer a phase shift of ␲ and arms 1 and 2
will have the same output power, P 0 . As a result the where Z ⫽ 2Cz, P n1 (Z), and P n2 (Z) are the normalized
output power will be 0. A comparison between this powers (to the critical power P c ⫽ 4C/Q 1 ) of the beams
switching and the directional coupler’s electro-optical propagating in waveguides 1 and 2, respectively. P nt
switching8 shows that the output optical power of this de- ⫽ P n1 ⫹ P n2 ⌫ n is a conservation quantity of the nonlin-
vice is much less than the output power of the electro- ear coupling systems12 and can be determined by the ini-
optical switching for which the output power is equal to tial inputs as follows:
the input power. But the required switching electrical
⌫ n ⫽ 关 P n1 共 0 兲 P n2 共 0 兲兴 1/2 cos ␸ n0 ⫹ P n1 2 共 0 兲 ⫺ P n2 2 共 0 兲 ,
power here is much lower than the directional coupler
(15)
electro-optical switching when a mismatch of ␦ ⫽ 冑3 in-
duced by the switching-voltage is needed.8 where ␸ n0 is the initial relative phase difference with a
codomain of [⫺␲, ␲] as defined in Ref. 26.
Solving Eq. (12) yields powers propagating in
waveguides 1 and 2 of the anti-NLDC, P n1 (Z) and
B. Phase-Shift Characteristics in a Nonlinear P n2 (Z), as
Directional Coupler
In the past few years, the power-coupling characteristics P n1 共 Z 兲 ⫽ M n ⫹ H n cos共 ␣ n0 ⫾ 冑1 ⫹ 4P nt 2 Z 兲 , (16)
for various types of nonlinear coupler have been studied
P n2 共 Z 兲 ⫽ P nt ⫺ M n ⫺ H n cos共 ␣ n0 ⫾ 冑1 ⫹ 4P nt 2 Z 兲 ,
extensively12–20; however, little attention has been paid to
the phase-shift characteristics induced by the coupling. (17)
In this subsection we shall discuss phase-shift character- where
istics of an antisymmetrical nonlinear coupler and of a P nt 2⌫ n P nt
symmetric nonlinear coupler. Mn ⫽ ⫹ ,
2 1 ⫹ 4P nt 2

1. Antisymmetrical Nonlinear Coupler 冋

H n ⫽ M n2 ⫺
共 ⌫ n ⫹ P nt 2 兲 2
1 ⫹ 4P nt 2
册 1/2

The antisymmetrical nonlinear coupler (anti-NLDC) is

composed of one self-focusing waveguide with a positive 共 P nt 2 ⫹ 4P nt 4 ⫺ 4⌫ n 2 兲 1/2
⫽ ,
Kerr coefficient and one self-defocusing waveguide with 2 共 1 ⫹ 4P nt 2 兲

an equal amount of negative Kerr coefficient. Here we
assume that waveguides 1 and 2 are a self-focusing wave-
guide and a self-defocusing waveguide respectively; i.e.,
Q 1 ⫽ ⫺Q 2 ⬎ 0 and ␤ 1 ⫽ ␤ 2 ⫽ ␤ . An anti-NLDC with
saturation has been reported when the power coupling
characteristics were examined numerically.27 As we
know, no phase-jump characteristics have been reported.
It is difficult to manufacture an anti-NLDC; however, all
the results for the anti-NLDC can be expressed in analyti-
cal form, and thus it is helpful to understand the phase-
jump phenomenon in the nonlinear coupler. For simplic-
ity we do not consider the effect of the loss, i.e., ␴ ⫽ 0. To
solve Eqs. (1), let
am ⫽ 冑P c A nm exp关 j ␤ z ⫹ j ␾ nm 共 z 兲兴 ,
where P c ⫽ 4C/Q 3 and m ⫽ 1, 2. ␾ n1 and ␾ n2 are
phases of the beams in waveguides 1 and 2, respectively,
which are induced by nonlinear coupling. A n1 and A n2
are the amplitudes of the beams in waveguides 1 and 2,
respectively.
Substituting Eq. (11) into Eqs. (1) gives
冋 册
P n1 共 0 兲 ⫺ M n
␣ n0 ⫽ cos⫺1 , 0 ⭐ ␣ n0 ⭐ ␲ .
Hn
The argument 冑1 ⫹ 4P nt 2 Z takes the positive sign in
Eqs. (16) and (17) if sin ␸n0 ⬍ 0 but the negative sign if
sin ␸n0 ⬎ 0. It is obvious that the maximum exchange of
power is dependent on the initial inputs and that the cou-
pling periodicity is dependent only on the total power, as
shown in Eqs. (16) and (17). This is quite different from
the convenient NLDC and linear coupler. It can also be
seen that M n ⫽ H n ⫽ P nt /2(1 ⫹ 4P nt 2 ) only when ⌫ n
⫹ P nt 2 ⫽ 0 and that P nt ⫺ M n ⫽ H n ⫽ P nt /2(1
⫹ 4P nt 2 ) only when ⌫ ⫺ P nt 2 ⫽ 0. Therefore there is no
singularity in the derivative of the nonlinear phase in
Eqs. (13) and (14). In the case of ⌫ n ⫹ P nt 2 ⫽ 0, P n1 (Z)
(11) can be equal to 0 and all the power can be coupled to
waveguide 2. The evolution of ␾ n2 (Z) can still be de-
scribed by Eqs. (5), whereas the evolution of ␾ n1 (Z) re-
duces to
d␾ n1 共 Z 兲
⫽ 2P n1 ⫺ P nt . (18)
dZ
In the case of ⌫ n ⫺ P nt 2 ⫽ 0, P n2 (Z) can be equal to 0,
and the evolution of ␾ n2 (Z) reduces to
Wang et al. Vol. 18, No. 11 / November 2001 / J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 1559

d␾ n2 共 Z 兲 with P n1 (0), whereas ␾ n1 (Z) ⫺ ␾ n1 (0) and P n1 (Z) vary

⫽ P nt ⫺ 2P n2 . (19) slowly with P n1 (0) and P n1 (Z) ⬇ P nt . These two kinds
dZ of phase jump are explained in what follows.
Substituting Eqs. (16) and (17) into Eqs. (13) and (14) ac- Figure 8 shows phase shift ␾ n2 (Z) ⫺ ␾ n2 (0) as a func-
cordingly permits the nonlinear phase induced by the tion of the length of the coupler for various initial inputs
nonlinear interaction in waveguides 1 and 2 to be ex- P n1 (0). It is obvious that there is a continuous phase
pressed as jump of ␲ and that the critical jump length becomes
shorter with increasing P n1 (0), as shown in Fig. 8(a).
2H n For a fixed coupling length, for example, L ⫽ 1.8␲ , when
␾ n1 共 Z 兲 ⫽ 共 2M n ⫺ P nt 兲 Z ⫾ 关 sin ␣ n 共 Z 兲 P n1 (0) ⫽ 0.28 changes to P n1 (0) ⫽ 0.3 the phase of the
冑1 ⫹ 4P nt 2 beam in waveguide 1 will change from ⬇3.5 to ⬇6.7.
⫺ sin ␣ n 共 0 兲兴 ⫾ sign共 ⌫ n ⫹ P nt 2 兲 Therefore there is a phase jump in the coupler with L
⫽ 1.8␲ when P n1 (0) is close to P n1 (0) ⫽ 0.28, as shown

再 冋
⫻ arctan
兩 ⌫ n ⫹ P nt 2 兩
g1
tan
␣ n共 Z 兲
2
册 in Fig. 7. Figure 8(b) shows phase shift ␾ n2 (Z)
⫺ ␾ n2 (0) as a function of Z for P n1 (0) ⫽ 0.7 and P n1 (0)
⫽ 0.75. When P n1 (0) ⫽ 0.7, the phase shift induced by

冋
⫺ arctan
兩 ⌫ n ⫹ P nt 2 兩
g1
tan
␣ n共 0 兲
2
册 ⫹ N␲ , 冎
(20)

2H n
␾ n2 共 Z 兲 ⫽ 共 2M n ⫺ P nt 兲 Z ⫾ 关 sin ␣ n 共 Z 兲
冑1 ⫹ 4P nt 2
⫺ sin ␣ n 共 0 兲兴 ⫾ sign共 ⌫ n ⫺ P nt 2 兲

再
⫻ arctan⫺1 冋 g2
兩 ⌫ n ⫺ P nt 2 兩
tan
␣ n共 Z 兲
2
册
⫺ arctan⫺1 冋 g2
兩 ⌫ n ⫺ P nt 兩 2
tan
␣ n共 0 兲
2
册 ⫹ N␲ , 冎
(21) Fig. 7. Phase shifts ␾ n1 (Z) ⫺ ␾ n1 (0) and ␾ n2 (Z) ⫺ ␾ n2 (0) as
well as output powers P n1 (Z) and P n2 (Z) as functions of the ini-
where tial normalized power P n1 (0), where P n2 (0) ⫽ 0.003, Z ⫽ 1.8␲

冋 册
and ␸ n0 ⫽ 0.47␲ .
␣ n共 Z 兲
N ⫽ Int ⫹ 0.5 ,
2␲

␣ n 共 Z 兲 ⫽ ␣ n0 ⫾ 冑1 ⫹ 4P nt 2 Z,
g 1 ⫽ 共 M n ⫹ H n 兲 冑1 ⫹ 4P nt 2 ,

g 2 ⫽ 共 P nt ⫺ M n ⫹ H n 兲 冑1 ⫹ 4P nt 2 .
In Eqs. (20) and (21), a positive sign is used if sin ␸n0
⬍ 0; otherwise a negative sign is used. If we let sign(0)
⫽ 0, then Eqs. (20) and (21) are also solutions of differ-
ential Eqs. (18) and (19), respectively. Equations (20)
and (21) agree with the numerical integration of Eq. (14).
Figure 7 shows the phase shift of the beams in
waveguides 1 and 2 induced by nonlinear coupling,
␾ n1 (Z) ⫺ ␾ n1 (0) and ␾ n2 (Z) ⫺ ␾ n2 (0), and the output
powers of waveguides 1 and 2, P n1 (Z) and P n2 (Z), as
functions of the initial normalized power P n1 (0).
It can be seen from Fig. 7 that there is an abrupt jump
near P n1 (0) ⫽ 0.732, where the nonlinear phase sud-
denly drops from 9.10 to ⫺3.46 rad; it approximates 4␲.
In addition, there is another jump near P n1 (0) ⫽ 0.285,
which is not abrupt but rapid and continuous, as shown in
Fig. 7. This phase jump is quite different from the phase
shift induced by self-phase modulation and cross-phase Fig. 8. Phase shift ␾ n2 (Z) ⫺ ␾ n2 (0) as a function of the length
modulation.28 When phase shift ␾ n2 (Z) ⫺ ␾ n2 (0) jumps of the coupler for various initial inputs P n1 (0), where P n2 (0)
near P n1 (0) ⫽ 0.285, P n2 (Z) is small and varies rapidly ⫽ 0.003 and ␸ n0 ⫽ 0.47␲ .
1560 J. Opt. Soc. Am. B / Vol. 18, No. 11 / November 2001
Fig. 9. Phase shift induced by nonlinear coupling and power as
functions of the length of the nonlinear coupler.
Fig. 10. Influence of input power P n1 (0) and ratio
P n1 (0)/P n2 (0) on the phase-shift characteristics, where ␸ n0
⫽ 0.47␲ . Long-dashed curve, P n1 (0) ⫽ 0.3 and P n2 (0)
⫽ 0.003; short-dashed curve, P n1 (0) ⫽ 0.27 and P n2 (0)
⫽ 0.0027; solid curve, P n1 (0) ⫽ 0.27 and P n2 (0) ⫽ 0.003.
the nonlinear coupling suffers a jump of ␲ two times. For
P n1 (0) ⫽ 0.75, the beam suffers a drop of ␲ two times.
Therefore there is a nearly 4␲ jump in the nonlinear cou-
pler with L ⫽ 1.8␲ when P n1 (0) ⫽ 0.7 changes to
P n1 (0) ⫽ 0.75.
Figure 9 shows both the phase shift induced by the
nonlinear coupling and the power as functions of the
length of the nonlinear coupler. As for a linear coupler,
the power is at its minimum where the phase shift suffers
a jump of ␲.
For linear coupling we have shown that one can
achieve a phase jump of ␲ by varying the ratio of the in-
put powers. It is necessary to clarify the contributions of
the nonlinear effect and the variance of the ratio of
P n1 (0)/P n2 (0) to the phase jump as shown in Fig. 7.
Figure 10 compares the influence of input power P n1 (0)
and ratio P n1 (0)/P n2 (0) on the phase-shift characteris-
tics. For the same ratio P n1 (0)/P n2 (0), the critical jump
length obviously decreases with an increase of input
power, as shown by the long- and the short-dashed curves
in Fig. 10. It is quite different from the linear coupler,
for which the phase-shift characteristics depend only on
the ratio of the input powers and are independent of the
Wang et al.
absolute values of the input powers. When P n2 (0)
⫽ 0.003 and P n1 (0) changes from 0.27 to 0.3, the critical
jump length is obviously reduced, as shown by the long-
dashed curve with P n1 (0)/P n2 (0) ⫽ 100 and the solid
curve with P n1 (0)/P n2 (0) ⫽ 90. When P n1 (0) ⫽ 0.0027
and P n2 (0) changes from 0.0027 to 0.003, the critical
jump length is reduced only slightly, as shown by the
short-dashed curve with P n1 (0)/P n2 (0) ⫽ 100 and the
solid curve with P n1 (0)/P n2 (0) ⫽ 90. Apparently, the
phase jump in the nonlinear coupler shown in Fig. 7 is in-
duced principally by the variation of the input power but
not by the ratio of P n1 (0)/P n2 (0).
The ␲ phase jump of is also observed in the self-
focusing waveguide. Figure 11 shows the phase shift of
the beam in the self-focusing waveguide induced by non-
linear coupling, where the jump is close to an odd mul-
tiple of ␲. The results agree with the numerical integra-
tion of Eq. (13).
2. Symmetrical Nonlinear Coupler
For a symmetrical nonlinear coupler we have Q 1 ⫽ Q 2
and ␤ 1 ⫽ ␤ 2 . For simplicity, here we consider only the
lossless case. Substituting Eq. (11) into Eqs. (1) yields
the evolution of the phase of the guided wave in wave-
guide 1 of the NLDC induced by the nonlinear coupling,
when ⌫ n ⫽ 0, as
d␾ n1
⫽ P nt ⫹ P n1 ⫹ ⌫ n /8P n1 , (22a)
dZ
d␾ n2
⫽ P nt ⫹ P n2 ⫹ ⌫ n /8P n2 , (22b)
dZ
where Z (⫽2Cz) is the normalized longitudinal
coordinate z. ⌫ n ⫽ 4 关 P n1 (0)P n2 (0) 兴 1/2cos ␸n1(0)
⫺ 8Pn1(0)Pn2(0) is a conservation quantity of the nonlin-
ear coupling systems.12
Fig. 11. Phase shift of the beam in the self-focusing waveguide
induced by nonlinear coupling as a function of the power P n1 (0),
where P n2 (0) ⫽ 0.29, ␸ n0 ⫽ 0.56␲ , and Z ⫽ 3.2␲ .
Wang et al. Vol. 18, No. 11 / November 2001 / J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 1561

3. CONCLUSION
In conclusion, a phase jump of ␲ in both linear and non-
linear couplers has been demonstrated theoretically.
These new phenomena may lead to some interesting po-
tential applications, such as a phase shifter and phase-
type switching. For example, an electro-optical switch-
ing configuration employing phase-jump characteristics is
suggested.

Fig. 12. Phase shift of the beam in waveguide 1 of the symmet- APPENDIX A
ric nonlinear coupler as a function of normalized input power To solve Eqs. (2), let
P n1 (0), where P n2 (0) ⫽ 0.1, ␸ n0 ⫽ 0.31␲ , and Z ⫽ 1.8␲ .
b m ⫽ Ā m exp共 j ␤ m z 兲 , (A1)
The power propagation in waveguide 1 of the NLDC,
P n1 (Z), can be expressed as21 where m ⫽ 1, 2 and Ā m (0) ⫽ A m (0)exp关 j␾m(0)兴.
Substituting Eq. (A1) into Eqs. (2) gives
P nt dĀ m
P n1 共 Z 兲 ⫽ ⫹ b 0 cn 关 Z 1 ⫾ 2b 0 Z/k 1 , k 1 兴 , ⫽ iCĀ 3⫺m exp关共 ⫺1 兲 m ⌬z 兴 . (A2)
2 dz

A 2 ⭐ 2P nt 2 ⭐ A 1 , (23) Solving Eq. (A2) gives

exp关 j ␾ 1 共 0 兲兴
P nt Ā 1 共 Z 兲 ⫽ (兵 2R ⫺A 1 共 0 兲
P n1 共 Z 兲 ⫽
2
⫹ b 0 dn 关 Z 2 ⫾ 2b 0 Z, k 2 兴 , 2 冑1 ⫹ ␦ 2
⫺ A 2 共 0 兲 exp关 ⫺j ␸ 共 0 兲兴 其 exp共 ⫺jZR ⫹兲
P nt
P n1 共 0 兲 ⬎ , 2P nt 2 ⬎ A 1 , (24a) ⫹ 兵 2R ⫹A 1 共 0 兲
2
⫹ A 2 共 0 兲 exp关 ⫺J ␸ 共 0 兲兴 其 exp共 jZR ⫺兲 ), (A3)

R ⫾ ⫽ ( 冑1 ⫹ ␦ 2 ⫾ ␦ )/2
P nt
P n1 共 Z 兲 ⫽ ⫺ b 0 dn 关 Z 2 ⫾ 2b 0 Z, k 2 兴 , where and ␸ (0) ⫽ ␾ 1 (0)
2 ⫺ ␾ 2 (0). ␸ 0 ⫽ ␸ (0) when A 1 (0)A 2 (0) ⬎ 0.

P nt
P n1 共 0 兲 ⬎ , 2P nt 2 ⬎ A 1 ,
2
with a 0 ⫽ ( 兩 P nt ⫺ A 1 /2) /2, b 0 ⫽ (P nt ⫺ A 2 /2) /2,
2 1/2 2 1/2
k 1 ⫽ 关 b 0 2 /(a 0 2 ⫹ b 0 2 ) 兴 1/2, k 2 ⫽ (1 ⫺ a 0 2 /b 0 2 ) 1/2, A 1,2
⫽ 1 ⫺ ⌫ n ⫾ (1 ⫺ 2⌫ n ) 1/2, Z 1 ⫽ arccos兵关Pn1(0) ⫺ Pnt/2兴 /
b 0 , k 1 其 , Z 2 ⫽ arc⌬ 关 兩 P n1 (0) ⫺ P nt /2兩 /b 0 , k 2 兴 . The argu-
ments 2 冑a 0 2 ⫹ b 0 2 Z and 2b 0 Z take positive signs in
Eqs. (23) and (24) if sin ␸1(0) ⬍ 0 but negative signs if
sin ␸1(0) ⬎ 0. It can be seen from Eqs. (23) and (24) that
P 1 (Z) can be zero only when ⌫ n ⫽ 0. Therefore there is
no singularity in the derivative of the nonlinear phase in
Eqs. (22) when ⌫ n ⫽ 0. In the case of ⌫ n ⫽ 0, the deriva-
tive of the nonlinear phase can be expressed as
d␾ nm /dZ ⫽ P nt ⫹ P nm (Z) (m ⫽ 1, 2). The phase shift
of the beam propagating in the waveguides as a function
of the initial inputs or the coupling length can be calcu-
lated from Eqs. (22a)–(24).
Figure 12 shows the nonlinear phase and the normal-
ized output power of the beam propagating in waveguide
1 as functions of normalized input power P n1 (0). It can
be seen from the solid curve in Fig. 12 that there is an
abrupt jump of 2␲ in the vicinity of P n1 (0) ⫽ 0.789,
where the nonlinear phase abruptly jumps from 3.14␲ rad
to 1.14␲ rad. Interestingly, a continuous jump of ␲ has
also been observed when P n1 (0) was close to P n1 (0)
⫽ 0.9116, as shown in the inset of Fig. 12.
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