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An apodized SOI waveguide-to-fiber surface grating coupler for single lithography silicon photonics
Mikael Antelius1, Kristinn B Gylfason, Hans Sohlström
1Microsystem Technology Laboratory, School of Electrical Engineering, KTH-Royal Institute of Technology, SE-100 44 Stockholm, Sweden. mikael.antelius@ee.kth.se
Optics Express
|March 4, 2011
Summary
We developed an advanced grating coupler for silicon photonics, achieving 35% coupling efficiency. This design enhances light transfer between optical fibers and silicon waveguides, crucial for integrated photonic circuits.
Area of Science:
- Photonics and Nanophotonics
- Materials Science and Engineering
Background:
- Efficient light coupling is essential for silicon photonic integrated circuits.
- Existing grating couplers often require complex fabrication or suffer from high back-reflection.
Purpose of the Study:
- To design and fabricate a high-efficiency, single-etch grating coupler for silicon photonics.
- To improve light coupling between single-mode silica fibers and silicon-on-insulator (SOI) waveguides.
- To minimize back-reflection in silicon nanophotonic circuits.
Main Methods:
- Design and fabrication of a through-etched, apodized grating coupler on an SOI substrate.
- Characterization of the grating coupler's performance, including coupling efficiency and bandwidth.
- Simulations to optimize device parameters like buried oxide thickness.
Main Results:
- Experimental demonstration of 35% coupling efficiency and 47 nm bandwidth at 1536 nm.
- Simulated optimized coupling efficiency of 72% with a 38 nm bandwidth at 1550 nm.
- Apodization reduced waveguide back-reflection from 21% to 0.1%.
Conclusions:
- The developed apodized grating coupler offers high performance for silicon photonic applications.
- Single-lithography fabrication of through-etched surface-coupled nanophotonic circuits is feasible.
- This technology represents a significant advancement in efficient light management for integrated photonics.
