title: Broadband fiber-chip zero-order surface grating coupler with 0.4  dB efficiency.
abstract: Surface grating couplers enable efficient coupling of light between optical fibers and nanophotonic waveguides. However, in conventional grating couplers, the radiation angle is intrinsically wavelength dependent, thereby limiting their operation bandwidth. In this Letter, we present a zero-order surface grating coupler in silicon-on-insulator which overcomes this limitation by operating in the subwavelength regime. By engineering the effective refractive index of the grating region, both high coupling efficiency and broadband operation bandwidth are achieved. The grating is assisted by a silicon prism on top of the waveguide, which favors upward radiation and minimizes power losses to substrate. Using a linear apodization, our design achieves a coupling efficiency of 91% (-0.41  dB) and a 1-dB bandwidth of 126 nm.
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Postigo
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gonzalo Wangüemert-Pérez
authors.forename: José Manuel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Luque-González
authors.forename: Íñigo
authors.initials: Í
authors.lastname: Molina-Fernández
authors.forename: Pavel
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cheben
authors.forename: Carlos A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Alonso-Ramos
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Halir
authors.forename: Jens H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Schmid
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ortega-Moñux