Dual-Tapered 10-μm-Spot-Size Converter with Double Core for Coupling Polarization-Independent Silicon Rib Waveguides to Single-Mode Optical Fibers

A new spot-size converter (SSC) for coupling Si rib waveguides to 10-µm-mode-diameter single mode optical fibers was theoretically and experimentally evaluated. The core of the SSC consisted of a lateral and vertical Si inverse-taper having a rib-to-wire shape and a lateral silica normal-taper with a rib shape. The calculated coupling losses for an optimized structure were 0.65 and 0.66 dB for transverse-electric (TE) and transverse-magnetic (TM) polarizations, respectively. The losses of the fabricated SSCs were 2.7 dB (TE) and 3.0 dB (TM). The measured misalignment tolerance was ±1.2 µm for an extra-loss increase of 0.25 dB.