Mirror-based polarization-insensitive broadband vertical optical coupling for Si waveguide

To achieve an efficient, broadband, and polarization-insensitive vertical optical input/output for Si photonics, we demonstrated vertical optical coupling for a Si photonic wire waveguide with an integrated 45° mirror and a spot size converter. The output beam from the fabricated mirror was evaluated and a high-quality single mode beam was obtained. On the basis of coupling loss measurements, the coupling losses for the Si photonic wire waveguide were estimated to be 0.85 and 0.55 dB in TE and TM polarizations, respectively. The wavelength-dependent loss was ±0.1 dB over a wavelength range of 1500-1600 nm.