Scientific Reports · 2018 · 22 citations · 37 references
EngineeringElectrical EngineeringMaterials ScienceOptical MaterialsOptoelectronicsPhotonicsIntegrated OpticsIntegrated PhotonicsOptical WaveguidesPhotonic Integrated CircuitsSilicon PhotonicsWaveguidesGrating CouplersIntegrated Photonic DevicesIntegrated WaveguidesOptical CouplersSiliconSilicon WaveguidesTaper LengthTapered Couplers
A new compact silicon grating coupler enabling fibre-to-chip light coupling at a minimized taper length is proposed. The proposed coupler, which incorporates a hollow tapered waveguide, converts the spot-size of optical modes from micro- to nano-scales by reducing the lateral dimension from 15 µm to 300 nm at a length equals to 60 µm. The incorporation of such a coupler in photonic integrated circuit causes a physical footprint as small as 81 µm × 15 µm with coupling efficiency and 3-dB coupling bandwidth as high as 72% and 69 nm respectively.
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