Method and Apparatus for Optical Waveguide-to-Semiconductor Coupling and Optical Vias for Monolithically Integrated Electronic and Photonic Circuits

An interlayer optical coupling system comprising:

• a first integrated circuit having a first coupler, the first coupler comprising a first waveguide coupled to a grating comprising a plurality of scattering units, each scattering unit further comprising at least a first scattering element formed of a shape in a layer selected from an active silicon layer and a polysilicon gate layer of the first integrated circuit,
• a second integrated circuit having a second coupler, the second coupler comprising a second waveguide coupled to a second grating comprising a plurality of second scattering units, each second scattering unit further comprising at least a second scattering element,
• the first optical coupler configured to divert light from the first waveguide primarily along a light path directed to the second optical coupler.

The system of claim 10, the first or third scattering elements include an active layer, wherein the active layer is a transistor body layer, and the first integrated circuit is a CMOS-SOI integrated circuit.

A grating coupler comprising:

• a waveguide coupled to a grating comprising a plurality of scattering units, each scattering unit further comprising a portion of silicon having a first thickness and formed on a first layer of silicon, adjacent a second portion of silicon having a second thickness and formed on a second layer of silicon.

An optical system comprising:

• a first integrated circuit having a first coupler, the first coupler comprising a first waveguide coupled to a grating comprising a plurality of scattering units;
• a second coupler, the second coupler comprising a second waveguide coupled to a grating comprising a plurality of second scattering units;
• wherein the first coupler is configured as a focusing coupler for producing a focused optical beam having a beam waist between the first and second coupler, the second coupler being aligned to receive the focused optical beam produced by the first coupler.