High-efficiency grating-couplers: demonstration of a new design strategy

We present a simple and practical strategy that allows to design high-efficiency grating couplers. The technique is based on the simultaneous apodization of two structural parameters: the grating period and the fill-factor, along with the optimization of the grating coupler etching depth. Considering a 260 nm Si-thick Silicon-on-insulator platform, we numerically demonstrated a coupling efficiency of -0.8 dB (83%), well matching the experimental value of -0.9 dB (81%). Thanks to the optimized design, these results represent the best performance ever reported in the literature for SOI structures without the use of any back-reflector.