High-efficiency end-fire 3D optical phased array based on a multi-layer Si3N4/SiO2 platform

Beam-steering devices such as optical phased arrays (OPAs) are key components in the applications of solid-state Lidar and wireless communication. The traditional single-layer OPA results in a significant energy loss due to substrate leakage caused by the downward coupling from the grating coupler structure. In this work, we have investigated a structure based on a multi-layer ${\rm Si}_{3}{\rm N}_{4}/{\rm SiO}_{2}$Si3N4/SiO2 platform that can form a 3D OPA to emit light from the edge of the device with high efficiency; a 2D converged out-coupling beam will be end-fired to the air. High efficiency and wide horizontal beam steering are demonstrated numerically, and the influence of vertical crosstalk, delay length, and number of waveguide layers are discussed, as well as the fabrication feasibility.