Simplified Approach for Optimizing Optical Asymmetric Curved Waveguides of Broadband Directional Couplers

ABSTRACT

Optical broadband directional couplers (BDCs) are indispensable components for providing wavelength-insensitive and flexible optical splitting in the construction of functional photonic integrated circuits (PICs). The existing BDC device structures are usually required to determine specific design parameters for different waveguide structures and operating wavelength bands. To circumvent this dilemma, here we present a novel optimization procedure to realize a compact BDC by using the asymmetric curved waveguide structure. The versatile particle swarm optimization (PSO) technique is adopted to determine the optimal device parameters of the compact and broadband asymmetric curved directional couplers (ACDCs) for different coupling ratios. In order to reduce the computational complexity in the optimization, the 3D ACDC is first converted to an equivalent 2D structure by using the modified effective index method (MEIM). The device parameters of the equivalent 2D ACDC are optimized by the PSO with the objective function of a wavelength flattened coupling ratio. Afterward, the optimized 2D structure is converted to the 3D one by including the waveguide thickness. To cope with the approximation error by the MEIM, the 3D ACDC is further fine-tuned by sweeping one of the device parameters with the full 3D simulation but keeping all of the other optimal parameters obtained from the PSO intact. As a result, a DC with broad bandwidth of 100 nm is obtained over the wavelength range from 1.50 µm to 1.60 µm with a very small coupling length of 6 µm. The semi-optimized ACDC is used to construct an unbalanced Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) and a Sagnac loop mirror (SLM), both of which show high extinction ratios of >25 dB over a broad wavelength range with low excess loss.     

Apodized fully-etched surface grating coupler using subwavelength structure for standard silicon-on-insulator waveguide

We design and demonstrate the fully-etched apodized grating couplers based on the silicon-on-insulator (SOI) platform using subwavelength structure for both transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) modes operation. The subwavelength grating (SWG) is used to engineer the refractive index using second-order effective medium theory (EMT). The whole designing procedure is given in details, especially a feasible and programmable method is developed to precisely manipulate the coupling strength of each grating cycle. A perfect Gaussian output beam can be synthesized for the TE mode operation, achieving a field overlap up to 98.3% with the Gaussian fiber mode. The simulated peak coupling losses are ?4.63 and ?2.99 dB for the TE mode and the TM mode, respectively, which are comparable with conventional shallowly etched grating couplers, realizing a fabrication simplification without performance penalty. The measured peak coupling loss is ?7.6 dB for the TE mode coupler with a 1 dB bandwidth of 45 nm, and ?6.1 dB for the TM mode coupler with a 1 dB bandwidth of 34 nm.     

A broadband grating-coupled silicon nitride waveguide for the mid-IR: characterization and sensitive measurements using an external cavity quantum cascade laser

We present the design and fabrication of a single-mode slab waveguide structure for mid-infrared spectroscopy optimized for broadband coupling. The sensor uses grating couplers for robust off-axis coupling and a silicon nitride guiding layer for mechanical robustness. An external cavity quantum cascade laser-based transmission method is introduced for characterizing the structure’s broadband coupling behavior. Light from an external cavity quantum cascade laser with a spectral range of 0.5 μm around 6 μm was coupled into the waveguide without the need for moving parts. First spectra taken with this sensor are presented.     

High efficiency silicon nitride grating coupler

In this paper, we have designed, fabricated and characterized silicon nitride grating couplers with high efficiency at 1490 nm. The devices are fabricated using deep UV photolithography with resolution requirement of ～500 nm. The grating coupler fabricated yields a peak coupling efficiency of ?5.1 dB. The 1-dB bandwidth of the grating coupler is 60 nm.     

All-Fiber Spectroscope with Second-Order Fiber Bragg Grating for Rotational Raman Lidar

Owing to the second-order fiber Bragg grating possessing narrower reflectivity bandwidth than first-order, an all-fiber spectroscopic filter with several second-order fiber Bragg gratings and optical fiber couplers in the visible region is designed to extract interest rotational Raman spectra. Considering the inference fringe visibility of inscribing fiber Bragg grating and the fiber core index dispersion effect, numerical simulations are made by the improved mathematical model based on an exponential photorefractive dynamic, and its simulative results show better agreement with the experimental data. We propose an all-fiber spectroscopic configuration, which could balance lidar sensitivity against signal-to-noise ratio for optimizing remote sensing performance by fiber Bragg gratings serially. Simulative results show that the thumb principle for fabricating second-order fiber Bragg grating is the increasing gratings length, and that this all-fiber spectroscope can achieve >70 dB suppression to elastic scattering and efficiently extract the rotational Raman signal for profiling atmospheric temperature.     

Design for broadband high-efficiency grating couplers

In this Letter, we propose general optimization methods to design broadband high-efficiency grating couplers for planar waveguides. We attribute the coupling bandwidth to the mismatch of effective indices between the diffracted beam and the actual grating structure around the operation wavelength for fiber to waveguide excitation. The coupling bandwidth formula is deduced. A simple parameter-separate optimization procedure is proposed for general layered grating couplers for high coupling efficiency. Using our principle, we optimized a grating coupler for a horizontal slot waveguide operating at wavelength 1.55 μm for TM polarization. The grating coupler has 1 dB bandwidth of 60 nm and coupling efficiency of 65% with incident light from single-mode optical fiber (SMF) at 8°.     

Photonic structures with grating couplers based on ZnO

The paper presents investigations concerning the design and realization of photonic structures with grating couplers. The first part of the paper deals with basic theoretical information on photonic structures with grating couplers and their application in optoelectronics. The further part presents the results of numerical investigations on photonic structures with grating couplers and shows the influence of geometrical parameters on the effectiveness of the input and output of optic power into and out of this photonic structure. The paper also provides the results of experimental investigations on a wideband gap semiconductor, viz. zinc oxide ZnO, as well as its application in planar waveguide structures and photonic structures with grating couplers.     

Simulations of nanograting-assisted light coupling in GaN planar waveguide

The numerical simulations of nanogratings integrated with gallium nitride (GaN) planar waveguides as well as the experimental in-coupling results are presented. A simulation tool based on the eigenmode expansion method and advanced boundary conditions provided a rigorous model of 400-nm-period grating couplers. A full-vectorial Maxwell solver allowed performing a number of simulations with varying grating parameters, where coupling efficiency, reflection and transmission characteristics of device were calculated. Gratings with different etch depths and arbitrary shapes were simulated using a staircase approximation, with an optimized number of steps per single slope. For the first time, an impact of dry etch processing on GaN coupler efficiency was evaluated, due to the inclusion of the sloped sidewalls, with regard to the technological constrains. Finally, the experimental results in the visible spectrum region (?? = 633 nm), for 400-nm-deep gratings etched in GaN waveguide, were presented together with theoretical data for binary and trapezoidal profiles of a grating, for different optical mode profiles ( ${{\rm TE}_{0}\div {\rm TE}_{3}\,{\rm modes}}$ ).     

Generation of an ultrabroadband supercontinuum in the mid-infrared region using dispersion-engineered GeAsSe photonic crystal fiber

An ultrabroadband mid-infrared (MIR) region supercontinuum (SC) is demonstrated numerically through dispersion-engineered traditional chalcogenide (ChG) photonic crystal fiber (PCF). By varying structural parameters pitch (hole to hole spacing) and air-hole diameter to pitch ratio, a number of 10-mm-long hexagonal PCFs made employing GeAsSe ChG glass as a core and air-holes of hexagonal lattice running through their lengths as a cladding are optimized to predict an efficient mid-infrared region SC spectral emission by pumping them using a tunable pump source between 2.9 and 3.3 µm. Simulations are carried out using an ultrashort pump pulse of 100-fs duration with a low pulse peak powers of between 3 and 4 kW into the optimized designs. It is found through numerical analysis that efficient SC spectral broadening with flattened output can be obtained by increasing the PCF pitch rather than increasing the PCF cladding containing air-hole diameter although a larger nonlinear coefficient could be obtained through increasing air-hole diameter of an optimized design. Simulation results show that the SC spectra can be broadened up to 12.2 µm for a certain design with a peak power of 3 kW. Using a peak power of 4 kW, it is possible to obtain SC spectral broadening beyond 14 µm with an optimized design spanning the wavelength range from 1.8 to 14 µm which covers the electromagnetic spectrum required for MIR molecular fingerprint region applications such as sensing and biological imaging.     

Microfocusing options for the inelastic X‐ray scattering beamline at sector 3 of the Advanced Photon Source

Synchrotron radiation from third‐generation high‐brilliance storage rings is an ideal source for X‐ray microbeams. The aim of this paper is to describe a microfocusing scheme that combines both a toroidal mirror and Kirkpatrick–Baez (KB) mirrors for upgrading the existing optical system for inelastic X‐ray scattering experiments at sector 3 of the Advanced Photon Source. SHADOW ray‐tracing simulations without considering slope errors of both the toroidal mirror and KB mirrors show that this combination can provide a beam size of 4.5 µm (H) × 0.6 µm (V) (FWHM) at the end of the existing D‐station (66 m from the source) with use of full beam transmission of up to 59%, and a beam size of 3.7 µm (H) × 0.46 µm (V) (FWHM) at the front‐end of the proposed E‐station (68 m from the source) with a transmission of up to 52%. A beam size of about 5 µm (H) × 1 µm (V) can be obtained, which is close to the ideal case, by using high‐quality mirrors (with slope errors of less than 0.5 µrad r.m.s.). Considering the slope errors of the existing toroidal and KB mirrors (5 and 2.9 µrad r.m.s., respectively), the beam size grows to about 13.5 µm (H) × 6.3 µm (V) at the end of the D‐station and to 12.0 µm (H) × 6.0 µm (V) at the front‐end of the proposed E‐station. The simulations presented here are compared with the experimental measurements that are significantly larger than the theoretical values even when slope error is included in the simulations. This is because of the experimental set‐up that could not yet be optimized.     

A 3D-CMOS compatible silicon photo-sensor with a large vertical photosensitive area

This paper introduces design and simulation of a three-dimensional complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor CMOS compatible photo-sensor based on a silicon substrate. In the structure of photo-sensor, a vertical n+/p junction as a photosensitive area is formed on one side of a U-groove, and perpendicular to a lateral n-i-p structure on top-side of the silicon surface. This configuration enables a direct butt-coupling of a fiber-optic to the photosensitive area, which is a privilege for many remote monitoring applications. The device analysis is carried out by a two-dimensional simulation using SILVACO TCAD simulator. The thickness of the photo-sensitive area is investigated by considering the figures of merit for the two different thicknesses of 30 and 50 µm. The simulated results (according to the parameters defined for the Si substrate) show a very low dark current of 70 and 100 (fA/μm) for the 30 and 50 µm thicknesses, respectively. In addition, a high photo-current to dark current ratio of ~3000 is achieved under an intensity of 2 mW/cm² at 633 nm wavelength, according to the wavelength of red He–Ne laser. The sensor demonstrates a responsivity of 0.33 A/W corresponding to 65% external quantum efficiency and a ?3 dB frequency response of 0.2 GHz under a small signal of 2 mW/cm² at 633 nm wavelength for 10 V reverse bias.     

Grating couplers for thick SOI rib waveguides

The use of grating couplers in high index contrast waveguides like silicon on insulator (SOI) offers several advantages over other coupling approaches, including better alignment tolerances and allowing for wafer-scale testing. The grating couplers were developed for nanometric SOI waveguides (Si-wires), and recently also for micrometric rib waveguides. In this paper we review our work in fiber-to-chip grating couplers for thick SOI rib waveguides, where a coupling efficiency of ?2.2?dB was demonstrated experimentally. We also discuss the use of grating couplers to improve optical throughput (étendue) of a planar waveguide Fourier-Transform (FT) spectrometer implemented in thick rib waveguides.     

Design of an ultrahigh‐energy‐resolution and wide‐energy‐range soft X‐ray beamline

A new ultrahigh‐energy‐resolution and wide‐energy‐range soft X‐ray beamline has been designed and is under construction at the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility. The beamline has two branches: one dedicated to angle‐resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) and the other to photoelectron emission microscopy (PEEM). The two branches share the same plane‐grating monochromator, which is equipped with four variable‐line‐spacing gratings and covers the 20–2000 eV energy range. Two elliptically polarized undulators are employed to provide photons with variable polarization, linear in every inclination and circular. The expected energy resolution is approximately 10 meV at 1000 eV with a flux of more than 3 × 10¹⁰ photons s^?1 at the ARPES sample positions. The refocusing of both branches is based on Kirkpatrick–Baez pairs. The expected spot sizes when using a 10 µm exit slit are 15 µm × 5 µm (horizontal × vertical FWHM) at the ARPES station and 10 µm × 5 µm (horizontal × vertical FWHM) at the PEEM station. The use of plane optical elements upstream of the exit slit, a variable‐line‐spacing grating and a pre‐mirror in the monochromator that allows the influence of the thermal deformation to be eliminated are essential for achieving the ultrahigh‐energy resolution.     

Dispersion compensation in optical transmission systems using high negative dispersion chalcogenide/silica hybrid microstructured optical fiber

In this paper, a new hybrid microstructured optical fiber (H-MOF) based upon photonic bandgap (PBG) light guiding mechanism which can be used for dispersion compensation in optical transmission systems is designed and simulated. The H-MOF core is made up of silica glass and the holes in the cladding network are filled with As₂Se₃ chalcogenide glass. By selecting an appropriate geometrical parameters for the structure, the dispersion and confinement losses of the proposed H-MOF at 1.55 µm are calculated to be ?6700 ps/nm/km and 6?×?10^?4 dB/m, respectively. Relative dispersion slope (RDS) of the H-MOF at 1.55 µm is about 0.00347 nm^?1. The proposed H-MOF is suitable for use in wavelength division multiplexing and dispersion compensating systems in optical fiber transmission networks.     

Design of efficient single-stage chirped pulse difference frequency generation at 7 μm,driven by a dual wavelength Ti:sapphire laser

We present simulations for a design of a high-energy single-stage mid-IR difference frequency generation adapted to a two-color Ti:sapphire amplifier system. The optimized mixing process is based on chirped pulse difference frequency generation (CP-DFG), allowing for a higher conversion efficiency and reduced two-photon absorption losses. The numerical start-to-end simulations include stretching, chirped pulse difference frequency generation and pulse compression. Realistic design parameters for commercially available nonlinear crystals (GaSe, AgGaS₂, LiInSe₂, LiGaSe₂) are considered. Compared with conventional unchirped DFG directly pumped by Ti:sapphire technology, we predict a threefold increase in the quantum efficiency. Our CP-DFG scheme provides up to 340 μJ pulse energy directly at 7.2 μm when pumped with 8 mJ and supports a bandwidth of up to 350 nm. The resulting 240 fs mid-IR pulses are inherently phase stable.     

An ultra‐compact multimode interference coupler with a subwavelength grating slot

Multimode interference couplers (MMIs) are fundamental building blocks in photonic integrated circuits. Here it is experimentally demonstrated, for the first time, a two‐fold length reduction in an MMI coupler without any penalty on device performance. The design is based on a slotted 2 × 2 MMI fabricated on a commercial silicon‐on‐insulator (SOI) substrate. The slot is implemented with a subwavelength grating (SWG) comprising holes fully etched down to the oxide cladding, thereby allowing single etch step fabrication. The device has been designed using an in‐house tool based on the Fourier Eigenmode Expansion Method. It has a footprint of only 3.5 μm x 23 μm and it exhibits a measured extinction ratio better than 15 dB within the full C‐band (1530 nm‒1570 nm). SWG engineered slots thus offer excellent perspectives for the practical realization of MMIs couplers with substantially reduced footprint yet with outstanding performance.     

A new simulation design of three-mode division (de)multiplexer based on a trident coupler and two cascaded 3 × 3 MMI silicon waveguides

We propose a design of a silicon three-mode (de)multiplexing device based on a trident and two cascaded 3 × 3 multimode interferometers. Input lights at fundamental, first-order, and second-order modes of transverse electric (TE) polarization are simultaneously converted to fundamental TE mode and demultiplexed at different ports at the outputs. The design is carried out through both theoretical analysis and numerical simulation using three dimensional-beam propagation method and effective index method. The results show a successful three-mode multiplexing in 100 nm wavelength range around 1550 nm with low insertion loss (< 0.71 dB) and crosstalk (? 18 dB). The proposed device also exhibit a small footprint (5 µm × 400 µm) that makes it potential for not only wavelength-division multiplexing and multimode-division multiplexing transmission systems, but also high bitrate and compact on-chip silicon photonics integrated circuits.     

High efficiency grating couplers based on shared process with CMOS MOSFETs

Grating couplers are widely investigated as coupling interfaces between silicon-on-insulator waveguides and optical fibers.In this work,a high-efficiency and complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor(CMOS) process compatible grating coupler is proposed.The poly-Si layer used as a gate in the CMOS metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor(MOSFET) is combined with a normal fully etched grating coupler,which greatly enhances its coupling efficiency.With optimal structure parameters,a coupling efficiency can reach as high as ～ 70% at a wavelength of 1550 nm as indicated by simulation.From the angle of fabrication,all masks and etching steps are shared between MOSFETs and grating couplers,thereby making the high performance grating couplers easily integrated with CMOS circuits.Fabrication errors such as alignment shift are also simulated,showing that the device is quite tolerant in fabrication.     

用有效折射率/有限元法设计1.55μmTi:LiNbO3单模条波导及其方向耦合器

应用有效折射率/有限元法(EI-FEM),考虑到LiNbO3晶体和Ti扩散的各向异性,折射率增量与寻常光、非寻常光及波长色散的关系,设计了1.55μm光波长下工作的z切y传播Ti:LiNbO3单模条波导的制备参数,计算和分析了其单模特性、模式场分布及其变化规律.扩展了EI-FEM,将其用于求解耦合波导系统,确定了方向耦合器的耦合长度及其波长色散特性.     

An Inverter-Based,CMOS, Low-Power Optical Receiver Front-End

In this paper, a low-power optical receiver front-end which consists of a transimpedance amplifier (TIA) and three stages of limiting amplifier (LA) for 2.5 Gb/s applications is proposed in 0.18 µm CMOS technology. The proposed TIA benefits from a modified inverter structure, in which the input resistance is properly reduced due to the use of diode-connected transistors in comparison with conventional inverter circuit. Also, an active inductor is used in parallel with a diode-connected transistor at the output node, which provides a low output resistance, while it resonates with the load capacitance to extend the ?3 dB frequency bandwidth. Moreover, three stages of LAs are used to obtain extra gain, in which each LA cell uses active inductor load. However, HSPICE simulations for the proposed TIA circuit show a 42.24 dBΩ transimpedance gain, 1.96 GHz frequency bandwidth, 11.7 pA/√Hz input referred noise, and only 972 µW of power consumption at 1.5 V supply. Also, simulation results for the whole receiver system show a 75.6 dB gain, 1.7 GHz frequency bandwidth, and 6.54 mW of power consumption at 1.5 V supply. Finally, simulation results indicate that the proposed receiver system has good performances to be used as a low-power optical receiver front-end.