8 IEEE JOURNAL OF QUANTUM ELECTRONICS. VOL. QE-24. NO.

I , JANUARY 1988

Coupling Coefficients for Trapezoidal Gratings

P. CORREC

Absfracf-Using conpled-mode theory, we calculate the coupling

coefficient for a trapezoidal grating and show that it is possible to ad-
just its shape to obtain a high coupling coefficient. This is one of the
advantages offered by the ion beam etching technique.

INTRODUCTION

T HE coupling coefficient K in a distributed feedback

(DFB) or distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) is a key
parameter describing the grating feedback strength. It has
already been analytically or numerically calculated by
Streifer et al. [l], [2] using coupled mode theory 131. n3 i,
These calculations have been made for sinusoidal or tri- Fig. 1 . Schematic view of slab waveguide with trapezoidal grating
angular grating shapes, most often obtained with conven-
tional chemical etchants [4]. However, the fabrication of where ko = 27r/X0 is the free-space propagation constant,
gratings by dry etching techniques has recently been re- 0 is the mode propagation constant, E ( x ) is the y com-
ported [ 5 ] , [6]. In that case, the gratings have a trapezoi- ponent of the unperturbed electric field, and N 2 is a nor-
dal shape and the wall angle can be modified by control- malization constant given by
ling the ion incident angle. In this letter, we derive an
analytical expression for the coupling coefficient of a trap-
ezoidal grating and then obtain plots useful to optimize its
N2 = 1+m

-m
E2(x)dx. (3)

shape. The problem of the unperturbed waveguide geometry

ANALYSIS
Fig. 1 shows a schematic view of the corrugated slab
waveguide. The functions WI ( x ) and W2( x ) describe the
tooth shape, A is the pitch, and g is the tooth height. The
waveguide can be composed of several layers, and we as-
sume that the grating is located between layer 1 (extend-
ing to - 03) and layer 2 (thickness t 2 ) . Because of peri-
odicity, the refractive index spatial variation can be
written as
A n 2 ( x ,z ) = c A , ( x ) exp ( 2 i m ~ z / A )
rntZ
(la)
to best determine the unperturbed field distribution is not
yet entirely solved. One method, probably the most ac-
curate, is to replace the grating by an additional layer of
intermediate refractive index [7]. It has, however, the dis-
advantage of adding one layer to the structure. Another
method, chosen here for its relative simplicity, is to shift
the boundary between layers 1 and 2, such that the areas
labeled A and B are equal [ I ] , [2] (Fig. 1). This is ex-
pressed mathematically by

with For the trapezoidal grating under consideration,

n; - n:
A,(x) = 7[exp( - 2 i m w W 2 ( x ) / A )
21m~
- exp ( - 2 i m n W , ( x ) / A ) ] , m # 0. (lb)
Using coupled mode theory [ 3 ] ,the coupling coefficient
K is expressed as [ 11, 121

Li
w= W , ( g )= 2 + L2

Manuscript received march 26, 1987: revised August 10, 1987. This
work was supported in part by the EEC RACE Program.
The author IS with the Laboratoire de Bagneux. Centre National d'Etudes
We assume that the waveguide geometry is such that
des Telecommunications, 92220 Bagneux, France. the unperturbed electric field is exponentially decreasing
IEEE Log Number 87 17803. in layer 1 and sinusoidal in layer 2 . Taking into account

0018-9197/88/0100-0008$01.OO 0 1988 IEEE

IEEE JOURNAL OF QUANTUM ELECTRONICS, VOL. QE-24, NO. 1 , JANUARY 1988 9

the boundary conditions concerning E and d E / & at x =

g, we deduce that E can be written as
x Ij5, E ( x ) = ,P'(X--R)
-
g Ix It,, E(x) = COS [ K ~ (-
x g)] Active layer
Buffer layer
t,

t,
1 Q,(1 55pm)
Qd13vm)

+ PI
- sin [ K ~ ( -
x E)] Continement
layer
I"P 3 17

K2 (a) (b)
where P I and K2 are the propagation constants in layers 1 Fig. 2. Schematic waveguide structure of a GaInAsP/InP laser showing
and 2. (a) the layers and the trapezoidal grating, (b) the indexes at 1.55 p m
With these expressions, integral ( 2 ) is in standard form, used in the calculations.
and we find
k,2(n,2 - n:) 2 0 0 , I I I , I I 1 I I

K= 12
4mrPN2

with

II = [(Pig sin ii - ~

mrL2
A
cos U
)
- exp (-2P,g) Plg sin u I - -
mrL2 cos
A BEST 1'' ORDER
GRATING

i(Pld + (FYI Fig. 3 . First-order coupling coefficient as a function of L z for various

values of L , .

z3 =
[m71L,
-(cos U - cos U cos U )

Z4 =
I
L

--
K2g (sin
m r L cos
U cos
U
U -

sin
sin U )
U ] / [ (T)~
mrL - (K2g):]
A
BEST Znd ORDER
GRATING
where
Fig. 4. Second-order coupling coefficient as a function of L , for various
values of L , .

and we seek the best first- and second-ord$r gratings. The

It is easy to check that for a rectangular grating ( L 2 =
0 ) or a symmetric triangular grating ( L l = 0, L 2 = A / 2 ) ,
one recovers the formulas of [I].
RESULTS
As an example, we chose the five-layer structure shown
in Fig. 2 for which r2 = t3 = 0.2 pm and t4 = 0.1 pm,
grating depth is fixed to 750 and 1500 A for first- and
second-order gradings, respectively, and we restrict our
attention to TE modes.
L , can vary from 0 to 1 - 2 L 2 and L 2 from - L 1 / 2 to
( 1 - L , ) / 2 . In the dry etching technique, there is no
limitation on wall angle 19 and L , and L z can be varied
independently. The results for first and second order are
displayed in Figs. 3 and 4 where the coupling coefficient
is plotted as a function of L 2 for various values of L l . As
explained previously, the waveguide layer thickness is
decreased to take the presence of the grating into ac-
10 IEEE JOURNAL OF QUANTUM ELECTRONICS, VOL. QE-24, NO. 1 , JANUARY 1988
count. From Fig. 3, we deduce that the best first-order
grating profile is that shown in the inset ( L , = A / 2 and
L 2 = 0 ) . This optimum profile leads to a coupling coef-
ficient of 180 cm-’. It also appears that coupling coeffi-
cients over 150 cm-’ ( 5 /6 of the maximum value) can be
obtained for values of L , within a wide range, provided
L 2 is chosen appropriately. Similarly, from Fig. 4, we
deduce that the best second-order grating profile is that
shown in the inset ( L , = 0.75A and L 2 = 0). This profile
leads to a coupling coefficient of 240 cm-’. Again, cou-
pling coefficients over 200 cm-’ ( 5 / 6 of the maximum
value) can be obtained, but for values of Ll close to 0.75A.
And, even if this requirement on L1 is met, the value of
L 2 is critical. Therefore, the constraints on L1 and L 2 are
much more stringent for second-order gratings than for
first-order gratings.
The possibility of adjusting L 2 to the expected value of
L , is a considerable advantage offered by the ion beam
etching technique, and should therefore lead to high cou-
pling coefficients (over 150 cm-’).
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The author thanks J. C. Bouley for encouragement
throughout this work and critical reading of the manu-
script.
REFERENCES
[I] W. Streifer, D. R. Scrifres, and R. D. Bumham, “Coupling coeffi-
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