Vertical chip-to-chip coupling between silicon photonic integrated circuits using cantilever couplers

We demonstrate vertical chip-to-chip light coupling using silicon strip waveguide cantilever couplers. The guided-wave couplers consist of silicon strip waveguides embedded within silicon dioxide cantilevers. The cantilevers deflect 90° out-of-plane via residual stress, allowing vertical light coupling between separate chips. A chip-to-chip coupling loss of 2.5 dB per connection is measured for TE polarization and 1.1 dB for TM polarization at 1550 nm wavelength. The coupling loss varies by less than±0.8 dB within the wavelength range from 1500 nm to 1565 nm for both polarizations. The couplers enable broadband and compact system architectures involving high speed vertical data transport between photonic integrated circuits.