Tolerant design of a planar-optical clock distribution system

This paper describes a tolerant design for a planar optical clock distribution system. It uses a correction optics that consists of a sequence of lenses at regular distances similar to a lens waveguide. The correction optics greatly reduces detrimental effects due to the influence of substrate tolerances, variations of the wavelength and the temperature on the light propagation. Ray-tracing simulations are used to analyze the performance of the corrected system. Practical considerations for the design of the overall system are presented.