Integrated silicon photonic interconnect with surface-normal optical interface

•High speed silicon photonic interconnect with surface-normal optical interface is demonstrated.•Bidirectional grating coupler have been fully optimized for maximum coupling.•The influence of oxide cladding thickness on perfectly vertical grating coupling performance is analyzed and revealed.•The silicon photonic interconnect is fully characterized include both the static and dynamic performance.

An integrated silicon photonic interconnect with surface-normal optical interface is demonstrated by connecting a bidirectional grating based E-O modulator and a germanium waveguide photodetector. To investigate this photonic interconnect, both static and dynamic performance of the discrete devices are characterized respectively. Based on the characterization work, data transmission experiment is carried out for the photonic interconnect. Eye diagram results indicate the photonic interconnect can operate up to 7 Gb/s.