Blazed grating couplers on LiNbO3optical channel waveguides and their applications to integrated optical circuits

Blazed grating couplers on LiNbO3optical channel waveguides have been successfully designed, fabricated, and evaluated. A reactive ion beam etching technique was used to shape the groove profile of grating couplers. A large decay factor of 600 dB/cm along optical channel waveguide was obtained. The air coupling intensity ratio of 8:1 between positive and negative light propagation directions for ion beam angle of 55° indicated a strong blaze effect. Highly efficient optical coupling from channel waveguide to Si phototransistor was also demonstrated.