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Efficient fiber-to-chip grating coupler for micrometric SOI rib waveguides.
C Alonso-Ramos1, Alejandro Ortega-Moñux, I Molina-Fernández
1Departamento Ingeniería de Comunicaciones, ETSI Telecomunicación, Universidad de Málaga, 29071 Málaga, Spain. caar@ic.uma.es
Optics Express
|July 20, 2010
Summary
This study presents a novel grating coupler design for silicon-on-insulator rib waveguides, overcoming challenges posed by high-order Bloch modes to achieve efficient fiber-to-chip coupling. The proposed design enables single Bloch mode excitation for enhanced performance.
Area of Science:
- Photonics and Nanophotonics
- Integrated Optics
- Semiconductor Waveguides
Background:
- Grating couplers offer efficient fiber-to-chip coupling without facet preparation, enabling wafer-scale testing.
- Application to silicon-on-insulator (SOI) rib waveguides is hindered by high-order Bloch modes.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate Bloch mode behavior and excitation in SOI rib waveguides.
- Develop a grating coupler design enabling single Bloch mode excitation.
- Propose a design process based on modal analysis.
Main Methods:
- Modal analysis of Bloch modes in SOI rib waveguides.
- Design of an access waveguide to control mode excitation.
- Simulation and optimization of grating coupler parameters.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated control over Bloch mode excitation through access waveguide design.
- Achieved a grating coupler with 65.6% coupling efficiency at 1.55 microm.
- Proposed a design process enabling single Bloch mode excitation.
Conclusions:
- The proposed grating coupler design effectively addresses challenges associated with high-order Bloch modes in SOI rib waveguides.
- Single Bloch mode excitation is achievable through careful access waveguide design.
- The developed structure is manufacturable using a single lithography step.
