The co-packaging of optics and electronics provides a potential path forward to achieving beyond 50 Tbps top of rack switch packages. In a co-packaged design, the scaling of bandwidth, cost, and energy is governed by the number of optical transceivers (TxRx) per package as opposed to transistor shrink. Due to the large footprint of optical components relative to their electronic counterparts, the vertical stacking of optical TxRx chips in a co-packaged optics design will become a necessity. As a result, development of efficient, dense, and wide alignment tolerance chip-to-chip optical couplers will be an enabling technology for continued TxRx scaling. In this paper, we propose a novel scheme to vertically couple into standard 220 nm silicon on insulator waveguides from 220 nm silicon nitride on glass waveguides using overlapping, inverse double tapers. Simulation results using Lumerical's 3D Finite Difference Time Domain solver solver are presented, demonstrating insertion losses below -0.13 dB for an inter-chip spacing of 1 𝜇m, 1 dB vertical and lateral alignment tolerances of approximately ± 2.7 𝜇m, a greater than 300 nm 1 dB bandwidth, and 1 dB twist and tilt tolerance of approximately 2.3 degrees and 0.4 degrees, respectively. These results demonstrate the potential of our coupler for use in co-packaged designs requiring high performance, high density, CMOS compatible out of plane optical connections.
MassTech Collaborative has helped to make the Commonwealth of Massachusetts a beacon for advanced manufacturing. In partnership with the AIM Photonics manufacturing institute, MassTech has launched five Laboratories for Education and Application Prototypes (LEAPs) within academic institutions and/or companies spread across Massachusetts, to develop a skilled workforce in integrated photonics. Hands-on and in-person workshops, bootcamps and laboratory courses are offered at these LEAPs to learners from academia, industry, and the government. The MA LEAP network stands as an excellent self-sustaining model for hands-on STEM education and workforce training for the rest of the country.
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