Design, fabrication, and performance of preferential-order volume grating waveguide couplers

Both a nonfocusing and a focusing preferential-order volume grating waveguide coupler were designed, fabricated, and tested. These volume grating couplers are designed to outcouple a 633-nm wave guided in an adjacent polyimide waveguide film. The slanted-fringe volume gratings are recorded holographically by the interference of two 364-nm waves. The dynamics of the holographic photopolymer HRF600X001 are investigated in relation to the interaction with the guided wave. The fabricated couplers exhibited a preferential coupling of 98%, a spatial coupling rate of 3.6 mm(-1), and a coupling efficiency of 95%. The focusing grating coupler focused the outcoupled beam to a focal line with a full width at half-maximum of 10.49 mum located 25 mm above the grating.