A new integrated-optic coupler was proposed for coupling a guided wave to a free-space wave propagating vertically from the waveguide surface. The coupler consists of a grating coupler in a cavity formed by two distributed Bragg reflectors, and has a small aperture. The cavity was designed to eliminate both transmission and reflection of the incident guided wave, resulting in 100 % radiation by a several-micron aperture. Design consideration was theoretically discussed based on the coupled mode analysis. Predicted performance was simulated and confirmed by the finite difference time domain method. (C) 2008 Optical Society of America.