Polymer waveguide based spot-size converter for low-loss coupling between Si photonics chips and single-mode fibers

Yasuhara, Kazuki; Yu, Feng; Ishigure, Takaaki

doi:10.1364/ofc.2017.th2a.2

Cited by 9 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Grating couplers have some major advantages including compact size, wafer-level testing capability, and flexible coupling position, while there are also some drawbacks such as a relatively low coupling efficiency typically below 3 dB, narrow bandwidth, and high wavelength sensitivity. As for the butt coupling regime, under which the fiber is typically placed at the wafer facet and aligned with the Si waveguides horizontally, edge couplers are commonly applied [24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32]. Edge couplers can achieve rather high coupling efficiency, broad bandwidth, and polarization independence, but they also have some limitations including relatively a larger footprint than grating couplers, fixed coupling position, and more strict requirements of the coupling facet.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Edge Couplers in Silicon Photonic Integrated Circuits: A Review

Cheng

et al. 2020

Applied Sciences

162

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Silicon photonics has drawn increasing attention in the past few decades and is a promising key technology for future daily applications due to its various merits including ultra-low cost, high integration density owing to the high refractive index of silicon, and compatibility with current semiconductor fabrication process. Optical interconnects is an important issue in silicon photonic integrated circuits for transmitting light, and fiber-to-chip optical interconnects is vital in application scenarios such as data centers and optical transmission systems. There are mainly two categories of fiber-to-chip optical coupling: off-plane coupling and in-plane coupling. Grating couplers work under the former category, while edge couplers function as in-plane coupling. In this paper, we mainly focus on edge couplers in silicon photonic integrated circuits. We deliver an introduction to the research background, operation mechanisms, and design principles of silicon photonic edge couplers. The state-of-the-art of edge couplers is reviewed according to the different structural configurations of the device, while identifying the performance, fabrication feasibility, and applications. In addition, a brief comparison between edge couplers and grating couplers is conducted. Packaging issues are also discussed, and several prospective techniques for further improvements of edge couplers are proposed.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Edge Couplers in Silicon Photonic Integrated Circuits: A Review

Cheng

et al. 2020

Applied Sciences

162

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“…Spot size converters that specifically target low insertion loss have reported values of less than 1 dB. 5 However, this solution like others, 6,7 require additional materials or post-lithography processing steps. Papers regarding chipto-chip coupling [8][9][10] techniques are sparse, but rely on many of the same principles.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigation of adjoint method inverse design applied to photonic integrated circuit fiber-to-chip edge couplers

Melus,

Suelzer,

Hagedon

et al. 2024

Optical Interconnects XXIV

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Inverse width taper edge couplers are the staple of low-loss photonic fiber-to-chip coupling. However, adiabatic mode conversion consumes large die area, which contradicts efforts towards dense integration. By leveraging the advantages of inverse design, we analyze a lithographically manufacturable method for designing fiber-to-chip edge coupling components. Adjoint method optimization is executed via the open-source Stanford Photonic Inverse design Software (SPINS-b) optimization framework to design a preliminary silicon nitride (SiN) fiber-tochip coupler. Simulation results are validated with Ansys Lumerical finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) solver. Adjoint method inverse design in-plane coupling is evaluated as a solution for photonic integrated circuits with strict size constraints. The design methodology is material and application agnostic, promoting dense photonic integration.

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“…However, this vertical coupling method also has the disadvantages of low coupling efficiency (loss higher than 3 dB), narrow bandwidth, polarization sensitivity, etc. An edge coupler is typically utilized in the butt-coupling mechanism, in which the optical fiber is typically positioned on the wafer end face, aligned horizontally with the Si waveguide [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21] . Edge couplers have the advantages of higher coupling efficiency, a wider bandwidth, and polarization insensitivity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%