Committee: 

Dr. Bakir, Advisor

Dr. Gaylord, Co-Advisor       

Dr. Ralph, Chair

Dr. Klein

Abstract:

The objective of the proposed research is to theoretically design and experimentally demonstrate optical couplers for 2.5D/3D heterogeneous integrated electronics. In the first part, a new concept, the "equivalent index slab (EIS)" method, is proposed to extend the application of the rigorous coupled-wave analysis (RCWA) to the rectangular grating diffraction phenomena involving surface waves. The RCWA-EIS method can be applied to optimize rectangular grating couplers with arbitrary profiles and to analyze the effects of angular misalignments on the coupling efficiency. In the second part, a fundamentally new coupling structure, the grating-assisted-cylindrical-resonant-cavities (GARC) interlayer coupler, is introduced. Based on cylindrical resonant cavities, the GARC couplers exhibit wider spectral bandwidth and higher coupling efficiency, which are promising alternatives to the conventional couplers.