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Compact focusing grating couplers for silicon horizontal slot waveguides
Optics Letters
|February 2, 2017
Summary
We developed compact, fully etched focusing gratings for silicon nitride slot waveguides. These gratings offer efficient light coupling with a 4 dB loss and a 38 nm bandwidth, simplifying fabrication.
Area of Science:
- Photonics and optical engineering
- Integrated optics
- Nanofabrication
Background:
- Efficient light coupling is crucial for integrated photonic devices.
- Slot waveguides offer unique optical confinement properties.
- Focusing gratings are essential for directing light in photonic circuits.
Purpose of the Study:
- To design, simulate, fabricate, and characterize compact, fully etched focusing gratings.
- To enable efficient light coupling into horizontal slot waveguides.
- To simplify the fabrication process using a single lithography step.
Main Methods:
- Two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) electromagnetic simulations.
- Fabrication using a silicon nitride layer sandwiched between amorphous silicon and silicon-on-insulator.
- Experimental characterization of grating performance, including coupling loss and bandwidth.
Main Results:
- Achieved compact and fully etched focusing gratings.
- Measured coupling losses of approximately 4 dB.
- Obtained a 3 dB bandwidth of 38 nm.
- Demonstrated single-step lithography fabrication.
Conclusions:
- The developed focusing gratings are efficient for horizontal slot waveguides.
- The fully etched design simplifies fabrication and reduces manufacturing costs.
- This work contributes to the advancement of integrated photonic devices.
