High‐efficiency single etch step apodized surface grating coupler using subwavelength structure

Grating couplers are key elements enabling the coupling of light between planar waveguide circuits and optical fibers. In this work, it is demonstrated using simulations and experiments that a high coupling efficiency can be achieved for an arbitrary buried oxide thickness by judicious adjustment of the grating radiation angle. The coupler strength is engineered by subwavelength structure, allowing straightforward apodization and single etch step fabrication. The design has been implemented using Fourier-eigenmode expansion and finite difference time domain methods. The measured coupling loss of a continuously apodized grating is −2.16 dB with a 3 dB bandwidth of 64 nm, therefore opening promising prospects for low-cost and high-volume fabrication using 193 nm deep-ultraviolet lithography. It is also shown by simulations that a coupling loss as low as −0.42 dB is predicted for a modified coupler structure with bottom mirror.