We present the results of the theoretical study and two-dimensional frequency domain finite-element simulation of tapered segmented waveguides. The application that we propose for this device is an adiabatically tapered and chirped PSW transmission, to eliminate higher order modes that can be propagated in a multimode semiconductor waveguide assuring mono mode propagation at 1.55μm. We demonstrate that by reducing the taper functions for the design of a segmented waveguide we can filter higher order modes at pump wavelength in WDM systems and at the same time low coupling losses between the continuous waveguide and the segmented waveguide. We obtained the cutoff wavelength as a function of the duty cycle of the segmented waveguide to show that we can, in fact, guide 1.55μm fundamental mode over a silicon-on-insulator platform using both, silica and SU-8 as substrate material. For the two-dimensional finite element analysis a new module over a commercial platform is proposed. Its contribution is the inclusion of the anisotropic perfectly matched layer that is more suitable for solving periodic segmented structures and other discontinuity problems. © 2013 SPIE.