Inverse design and demonstration of broadband grating couplers

We present a gradient-based optimization strategy to design broadband grating couplers. Using this method, we are able to reach, and often surpass, a user-specified target bandwidth during optimization. The designs produced for 220 nm silicon-on-insulator are capable of achieving 3 dB bandwidths exc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:arXiv.org 2019-01
Main Authors: Sapra, Neil V, Vercruysse, Dries, Logan, Su, Yang, Ki Youl, Skarda, Jinhie, Piggott, Alexander Y, Vučković, Jelena
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Broadband
Couplers
Design optimization
Inverse design
Set theory
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:We present a gradient-based optimization strategy to design broadband grating couplers. Using this method, we are able to reach, and often surpass, a user-specified target bandwidth during optimization. The designs produced for 220 nm silicon-on-insulator are capable of achieving 3 dB bandwidths exceeding 100 nm while maintaining central coupling efficiencies ranging from -3.0 dB to -5.4 dB, depending on partial-etch fraction. We fabricate a subset of these structures and experimentally demonstrate gratings with 3 dB bandwidths exceeding 120 nm. This inverse design approach provides a flexible design paradigm, allowing for the creation of broadband grating couplers without requiring constraints on grating geometry.
ISSN:2331-8422