An efficient and tolerant chip-to-chip optical coupling approach employing silicon nitride grating couplers was proposed and investigated. The integration of bottom mirrors and the strategic extension of grating length led to notable results, with a peak coupling loss of -0.28 dB and a 1-dB alignment tolerance along the x-axis reaching 25.4 μm when using a grating length of 50 μm.
The edge coupler holds paramount importance as a link bridging optical signals between fibers and silicon-based optoelectronic chips. It surpasses the grating coupler in terms of elevated coupling efficiency, diminished polarization sensitivity, and an expanded bandwidth. However, designing a low-loss silicon edge coupler with a broader minimum width, especially for the O-band, presents substantial obstacles. To surmount these challenges, a silicon nitride (SiN)- assisted double-etching silicon structure with a 180 nm minimum width is adopted in this work. This innovation capitalizes on the double-etching silicon taper, propelling the SiN layer's height to 1.6 μm relative to the bottom of silicon waveguide, resulting in pronounced reduction of silicon leakage loss. By meticulously implementing coupled mode theory, an exceptional coupling efficiency exceeding 0.95 is achieved for both TE and TM polarizations at 1310 nm, facilitating the seamless transition of light from SiN to the thinner silicon waveguide. Further enhancements in curbing silicon leakage loss and shortening device length are achieved through mode analysis-driven designs for both the SiN and silicon taper. Ultimately, these intricate designs culminate in an edge coupler boasting a 180 nm minimum width, with minimal losses of approximately 0.7/1.5 dB for TE/TM polarization and a 0.5-dB bandwidth of around 100 nm within the O band, as demonstrated through simulation while interfacing with standard single-mode fibers.
We demonstrate a high-efficiency silicon nitride grating coupler for perfectly vertical coupling. The directionality of the diffraction process is improved with the help of the bottom mirror and Bragg reflectors introduced in the design, leading to the minimal coupling loss of -0.52 dB at 1315.6 nm.
O-band edge couplers exhibit significant promise in silicon-based optoelectronic chips, particularly for applications within data centers. However, the task of designing a low-loss O-band silicon edge coupler with a wider minimum width, capable of interfacing with standard single mode fibers (SMF), presents greater challenges compared to its C-band counterpart. In this work, we propose, design and simulate a three-etching silicon edge coupler devoid of a cantilever structure, leveraging a 130 nm CMOS process. By incorporating a silicon oxide cladding with a refractive index 0.007 greater than that of the buried oxide, we successfully mitigate silicon leakage losses, particularly for the TM mode. Furthermore, we introduce a novel taper shape design methodology rooted in mode analysis. Within this designed taper shape, the effective refractive index or area of the supported mode experiences an equal rate of change as the taper width increases. Thanks to these innovative designs, our simulations reveal a minimum loss of 0.82/1.68 dB and a loss range of 0.69/0.38 dB for TE/TM modes in the O band when interfacing with standard SMF. Most notably, our edge coupler, featuring the designed taper shape, demonstrates an average coupling loss improvement of 1.23/0.44 dB for TE/TM modes compared to the parabolic counterpart. This work introduces a novel taper shape design approach for compact and low-loss edge couplers, offering a practical solution for achieving low-loss SMF-chip coupling within the O band.
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