III–V semiconductor waveguiding devices using adiabatic tapers

In the past few years much effort has been put into the fabrication and optimization of III–V semiconductor waveguiding devices with integrated adiabatic mode size converters (tapers). By integrating a taper with a waveguide device, one wants to reduce the coupling losses and the packaging cost of OEICs in future optical communication systems. This paper gives an overview of different taper designs, their performance and the technological approaches used in realizing such tapered devices.