Efficient coupling between integrated optical waveguides and optical fibers is essential to the success of integrated photonics. While many solutions exist, perfectly vertical grating couplers which scatter light out of a waveguide in the direction normal to the waveguide's top surface are an ideal candidate due to their potential to reduce packaging complexity. Designing such couplers with high efficiency, however, has proven difficult. In this paper, we use electromagnetic inverse design techniques to optimize a high efficiency two-layer perfectly vertical silicon grating coupler. Our base design achieves a chip-to-fiber coupling efficiency of over 99% (-0.04 dB) at 1550 nm. Using this base design, we apply subsequent constrained optimizations to achieve vertical couplers with over 96% efficiency which are fabricable using a 65 nm process.
We present a gradient-based algorithm to design general 1D grating couplers without any human input from start to finish, including a choice of initial condition. We show that we can reliably design efficient couplers to have multiple functionalities in different geometries, including conventional couplers for single-polarization and single-wavelength operation, polarization-insensitive couplers, and wavelength-demultiplexing couplers. In particular, we design a fiber-to-chip blazed grating with under 0.2 dB insertion loss that requires a single etch to fabricate and no back-reflector.
We demonstrate a novel grating coupler design based on double asymmetric and vertically oriented waveguide scatterers to efficiently couple normally incident light to a fundamental mode silicon waveguide laying on a buried oxide layer.
We demonstrate a kind of grating coupler that generates high quality flat-top beam with a small beamwidth from photonic integrated circuits into free-space. The grating coupler is designed on a silicon-on-insulator wafer with a 220 nm-thick silicon layer and consists of a dual-etch grating (DG) and a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR). By adjusting the structural parameters of DG and DBR, a pixel-level (6.6 um) flat-top beam with the vertical radiation of -0.5 dB and the mode match of 97% at 1550 nm is realized. Furthermore, a series of high-efficiency grating couplers are designed to create fl…
We report a comprehensive study on the performance of uniform and non-uniform based subwavelength grating couplers in Silicon-on-Insulator. The two performance metrics, coupling efficiency and bandwidth enhancement and trade-offs is presented. We also present, design parameters to achieve high-efficiency and broadband operation based on the detailed study of various loss mechanisms in the grating. Based on the detailed analysis subwavelength grating coupler designs with efficiency as high as 84 % with a 1 dB bandwidth of 50 nm and 98 % with a 44 nm 1 dB bandwidth is presented.
While grating couplers have become the de-facto standard for optical access to integrated silicon photonics platforms, their performance at visible wavelengths, in moderate index contrast platforms like silicon nitride, leaves significant room for improvement. In particular, the index contrast governs the diffraction efficiency per grating tooth and the resulting overall coupler length. In this work, we develop two approaches to address this problem: a dielectric grating that sums multiple optical modes to increase the overall output intensity, and an embedded metal grating that enhances the a…
A Silicon-on-insulator (SOI) perfectly vertical fibre-to-chip grating coupler is proposed and designed based on engineered subwavelength structures. The high directionality of the coupler is achieved by implementing step gratings to realize asymmetric diffraction and by applying effective index variation with auxiliary ultra-subwavelength gratings. The proposed structure is numerically analysed by using two-dimensional Finite Difference Time Domain (2D FDTD) method and achieves 76% (-1.19 dB) coupling efficiency and 39 nm 1-dB bandwidth.
We investigate numerically and experimentally sheared 2D grating couplers in a photonic BiCMOS technology with a focus on their splitting behavior. Two realization forms of a waveguide-to-grating shear angle are considered. The cross-polarization used as a figure-of-merit is shown to be strongly dependent on the grating perturbation strength and is a crucial limitation not only for the grating splitting performance, but also for its coupling efficiency.
Lithium-Niobate-On-Insulator (LNOI) has emerged as a promising platform in the field of integrated photonics. Nonlinear optical processes and fast electro-optic modulation have been reported with outstanding performance in ultra-low loss waveguides. In order to harness the advantages offered by the LNOI technology, suitable fiber-to-chip interconnects operating at different wavelength ranges are demanded. Here we present easily manufacturable, self-imaging apodized grating couplers, featuring a coupling efficiency of the TE0 mode as high as $\simeq 47.1\%$ at $λ$=1550 nm and $\simeq 44.9\%$ at…
A highly sensitive refractive index sensor based on grating-assisted strip waveguide directional coupler is proposed. The sensor is designed using two coupled asymmetric strip waveguides with a top-loaded grating structure in one of the waveguides. Maximum light couples from one waveguide to the other at the resonance wavelength, and the change in resonance wavelength with the change in refractive index of the medium in the cover region is a measure of the sensitivity. The proposed sensor would be an on-chip device with a high refractive index sensitivity of ~ 104 nm/RIU, and negligible temper…
We report on polarization combining 2D grating couplers (2D GCs) on amorphous Si:H, fabricated in the backend of line of a photonic BiCMOS platform. The 2D GCs can be used as an interface of a hybrid silicon photonic coherent transmitter, which can be implemented on bulk Si wafers. The fabricated 2D GCs operate in the telecom C-band and show an experimental coupling efficiency of -5 dB with a wafer variation of +/-1.2 dB. Possibilities for efficiency enhancement and improved performance stability in future design generations are outlined and extension towards O-band devices is investigated as …
We demonstrate monolithically defined grating couplers in $Z$-cut lithium niobate on insulator for efficient vertical coupling between an optical fiber and a single mode waveguide. The grating couplers exhibit $\sim 44.6\%$/coupler and $\sim 19.4\%$/coupler coupling efficiency for TE and TM polarized light respectively. Taperless grating couplers are investigated to realize a more compact design.
Optical I/O plays a crucial role in the lifespan of lab-on-a-chip systems, from preliminary testing to operation in the target environment. However, due to the precise alignments required, efficient and reliable fiber-to-chip connections remain challenging, yielding inconsistent test results and unstable packaged performance. To overcome this issue, for use in single mode on-chip systems, we propose the incorporation of area-enlarged grating couplers working in conjunction with multimode fibers. This combination enables simpler, faster, and more reliable connections than the traditional small …
A numerical investigation of a two dimensional integrated fiber grating coupler capable of exciting several LP fiber modes in both TE and TM polarization is presented. Simulation results and an assessment of the numerical complexity of the 3D, fully vectorial finite element model of the device are shown.
We design a focusing grating coupler by a simultaneous apodization of the filling factor and the period. In addition to in plane focusing to the input waveguide providing a total length of less than 70μm, a further apodization of the curvature allows out of plane focusing into a fiber set 150μm away from the grating surface. The design is proposed for novel semiconductor on insulator waveguides such as GaInP. The coupling efficiency is calculated from two dimensional simulation which is about 45%.
The efficient generation of surface plasmons from free space optical waves is still an open problem in the field. Here we present a methodology and optimized design for a grating coupler. The photo-excitation of surface plasmons at an Ag-SiO2 interface is numerically demonstrated to yield greater than 50% coupling from a Gaussian beam into surface plasmon voltages and currents.
To optimize the coupling efficiency of grating couplers, we extend an analytical model for the design of apodized grating couplers, taking into account the constraints on the upper and lower bounds of the scattering strength as determined by fabrication technology. We prove that our model gives the global optimum distribution of the scattering strength with the presence of such constraints. We apply our model to the standard problem of coupling from a silicon chip to a single-mode fiber, as well as more complex problems including the coupling to a vortex beam, and the design of a focusing grat…
We study propagation and switching of slow-light pulses in nonlinear couplers with phase-shifted Bragg gratings. We demonstrate that power-controlled nonlinear self-action of light can be used to compensate dispersion-induced broadening of pulses through the formation of gap solitons, to control pulse switching in the coupler, and to tune the propagation velocity.
We have designed a polarization-splitting grating coupler (PSGC) in silicon-oninsulator (SOI) that has 1.2 dB peak loss in numerical simulations, which is the best simulated performance of PSGCs without a bottom reflector to the best of our knowledge. Adjoint method-based shape optimization enables us to explore complex geometries that are intractable with conventional design approaches. Physics-based process-independent knowledge of PSGCs is extracted from the adjoint optimization and can be transferred to other platforms with a minimum of effort.
Vertical coupling using a diffraction grating is a convenient way to couple light into an optical waveguide. Several optimization approaches have been suggested in order to design such a coupler; however, most of them are implemented using algorithm based modelling. In this paper, we suggest an intuitive method based on S-matrix formalism for analytically optimize 3-port vertical grating coupler devices. The suggested method is general and can be applied to any 3-port coupler device in order to achieve an optimal design based on user constrains. The simplicity of the model allows reduction of …
We present a one-port sensor based on a single diffraction grating delineated over a planar optical waveguide. Distinctly to previously reported devices, the grating here is used not only as I/O coupler, but also provides a built-in reference beam which is basically unaffected by the sensing process as manifested in changes of the effective refractive index of the waveguide. The sensing process causes two effects simultaneously: a change in the angle of the out-coupled beam and a change in the phase accumulated by that beam. Both changes can be determined by their conjunction with the referenc…
University of California, Berkeley（加利福尼亚大学伯克利分校）；Hewlett Packard Labs（惠普实验室）；Hewlett Packard Enterprise（慧与科技）；HPE Belgium（HPE比利时分部）
We present a proof-of-concept technique for the inverse design of electromagnetic devices motivated by the policy gradient method in reinforcement learning, named PHORCED (PHotonic Optimization using REINFORCE Criteria for Enhanced Design). This technique uses a probabilistic generative neural network interfaced with an electromagnetic solver to assist in the design of photonic devices, such as grating couplers. We show that PHORCED obtains better performing grating coupler designs than local gradient-based inverse design via the adjoint method, while potentially providing faster convergence o…
Reflection gratings enable light coupling to optical cavities without transmission through substrates. Gratings that have three ports and are mounted in second-order Littrow configuration even allow the coupling to high-finesse cavities using low diffraction efficiencies. In contrast to conventional transmissive cavity couplers, however, the phase of the diffracted light depends on the lateral position of the grating, which introduces an additional noise coupling. Here we experimentally demonstrate that this kind of noise cancels out once both diffracted output ports of the grating are combine…
Based on the space-time duality of light, we numerically demonstrate that temporal dispersion grating couplers can generate from a single pulse an array of replicas of equal amplitude. The phase-only profile of the temporal grating is optimized by a genetic algorithm that takes into account the optoelectronic bandwidth limitations of the setup.
We report the design, fabrication and characterization of a periodic grating of shallow rectangular grooves in a metallic film with the goal of maximizing the coupling efficiency of an extended plane wave (PW) of visible or near-infrared light into a single surface plasmon polariton (SPP) mode on a flat metal surface. A PW-to-SPP power conversion factor > 45 % is demonstrated at a wavelength of 780 nm, which exceeds by an order of magnitude the experimental performance of SPP grating couplers reported to date at any wavelength. Conversion efficiency is maximized by matching the dissipative SPP…
A concept for a low loss all-reflective cavity coupler is experimentally demonstrated at a wavelength of 1064 nm. A 1450 nm period dielectric reflection grating with a diffraction efficiency of 0.58 % in the -1st order is used in 2nd order Littrow configuration as a coupler to form a cavity with a finesse of 400. The application of such reflective low-loss cavity couplers in future generations of gravitational-wave detectors as well as some implementation issues are discussed.
Nanophotonics has emerged as a powerful tool for manipulating light on chips. Almost all of today's devices, however, have been designed using slow and ineffective brute-force search methods, leading in many cases to limited device performance. In this article, we provide a complete demonstration of our recently proposed inverse design technique, wherein the user specifies design constraints in the form of target fields rather than a dielectric constant profile, and in particular we use this method to demonstrate a new demultiplexing grating. The novel grating, which has not been developed usi…
A novel design of large bandwidth, fabrication tolerant, CMOS-compatible compact tapers (15 um) have been proposed and experimentally demonstrated in silicon-on-insulator. The proposed taper along with linear grating couplers for spot-size conversion exhibits no degradation in the coupling efficiency compared to a standard focusing grating in 1550 nm band. A single taper design has a broadband operation over 600 nm that can be used in O, C and L-band. The proposed compact taper is highly tolerant to fabrication variations; 80 nm change in the taper width and 200 nm in end waveguide width varie…
Recent experiments have shown that spatial dispersion may have a conspicuous impact on the response of plasmonic structures. This suggests that in some cases the Drude model should be replaced by more advanced descriptions that take spatial dispersion into account, like the hydrodynamic model. Here we show that nonlocality in the metallic response affects surface plasmons propagating at the interface between a metal and a dielectric with high permittivity. As a direct consequence, any nanoparticle with a radius larger than 20 nm can be expected to be sensitive to spatial dispersion whatever it…
We propose an on-chip Si photonics optical phased array based on a serial grating design which eliminates the use of directional couplers in previous designs. It significantly reduces overall phased array size especially when the number of the antenna is small which is often demanded in practice. The simulation results show our design reduces overall phased array size, increases optical power utilization while maintains comparable far field performance.
We propose an Adaptive Perfectly Matched Layer (APML) to be used in diffraction grating modeling. With a properly tailored co-ordinate stretching depending both on the incident field and on grating parameters, the APML may efficiently absorb diffracted orders near grazing angles (the so-called Wood's anomalies). The new design is implemented in a finite element method (FEM) scheme and applied on a numerical example of a dielectric slit grating. Its performances are compared with classical PML with constant stretching coefficient.
