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US 10,921,682 B1Granted
Integrated optical phase modulator and method of making same
AssigneeKVH Industries, Inc.
InventorLiming Wang
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A low propagation loss and loose fabrication tolerance waveguide for a photonic integrated circuit (PIC) device may be realized by using a weak optical confinement to the optical mode, through designing a waveguide of single or double thin strips with high aspect ratio as waveguide core. To introduce a modulation functionality on this type of PIC device, a thin-film electrooptic material may be incorporated to form a hybrid phase modulating device, where a material that can be processed easily may be used as a device layer and is bonded to, or deposited with, a thin electrooptic film that may otherwise be difficult to fabricate or process. A low insertion loss, compact size and high-efficiency phase modulator on PIC device with this type of weakly confined waveguide is disclosed.
Claims31
An integrated optical phase modulator comprising:
- a photonic integrated circuit (PIC) configured as a modulator waveguide structure, the modulator waveguide structure comprising:
- a base waveguide core having a rectangular cross-section with a width-to-height ratio of greater than or equal to 10;
- a ridge disposed on the base waveguide core, the ridge having a first end and a second end, each of which is shaped into a width-wise taper, the ridge having a top surface that is coplanar with an upper surface of the modulator wave guide structure;
- and
- a cladding disposed beneath and on each side of the modulator waveguide structure;
- a first electrode and a second electrode disposed on the upper surface of the modulator waveguide structure, the first electrode and the second electrode being coplanar with the base waveguide core and disposed on opposing sides of the base waveguide core at a predetermined distance from the base waveguide core;
- and
- an electrooptic film characterized by a refractive index that changes in response to an electric field applied to the electrooptic film, the electrooptic film disposed on the upper surface of the modulator waveguide structure and overlaying the base waveguide core, the ridge, the first electrode, and the second electrode.
5 more elements
An integrated optical phase modulator comprising:
- a photonic integrated circuit (PIC) configured as a modulator waveguide structure, the modulator waveguide structure comprising:
- a base waveguide core having a rectangular cross-section with a width-to-height ratio of greater than or equal to 10;
- a ridge disposed on the base waveguide core, the ridge having a first end and a second end, each of which is shaped into a width-wise taper, the ridge having a top surface that is coplanar with an upper surface of the modulator wave guide structure;
- a trough formed in the top surface of the ridge in a lengthwise direction of the base waveguide core, the trough having a length less than a length of the ridge, and a height not exceeding a height of the ridge;
- and
- a cladding disposed beneath and on each side of the modulator waveguide structure;
- a first electrode and a second electrode disposed on the upper surface of the modulator waveguide structure, the first electrode and the second electrode being coplanar with the base waveguide core and disposed on opposing sides of the base waveguide core at a predetermined distance from the base waveguide core;
- and
- an electrooptic film characterized by a refractive index that changes in response to an electric field applied to the electrooptic film, the electrooptic film disposed on a substrate that has a lower refractive index than that of the electrooptic film, the electrooptic film arranged such that a surface of the electrooptic film is in contact with a surface of the trough and overlaying the base waveguide core, the ridge, the first electrode, and the second electrode.
6 more elements
An integrated optical phase modulator comprising:
- a photonic integrated circuit (PIC) configured as a modulator waveguide structure, the modulator waveguide structure comprising:
- a base waveguide core having an upper strip and a lower strip spaced in a vertical direction by a predetermined distance and placed symmetrically with respect to a vertical axis, each of the upper strip and the lower strip having a rectangular cross-section with a width-to-height ratio of greater than or equal to 10;
- a ridge disposed on the upper strip of the base waveguide core, the ridge having a first end and a second end, each of which is shaped into a width-wise taper, the ridge having a top surface that is coplanar with an upper surface of the modulator wave guide structure;
- a cladding disposed beneath and on each side of the modulator waveguide structure;
- a first electrode and a second electrode disposed on the upper surface of the modulator waveguide structure, the first electrode and the second electrode being coplanar with the base waveguide core and disposed on opposing sides of the base waveguide core at a predetermined distance from the base waveguide core;
- and
- an electrooptic film characterized by a refractive index that changes in response to an electric field applied to the electrooptic film, the electrooptic film disposed on the upper surface of the modulator waveguide structure and overlaying the base waveguide core, the ridge, the first electrode, and the second electrode.
4 more elements
An integrated optical phase modulator comprising:
- a photonic integrated circuit (PIC) configured as a modulator waveguide structure, the modulator waveguide structure comprising:
- a base waveguide core having a rectangular cross-section with a width-to-height ratio of greater than or equal to 10;
- a ridge disposed on the base waveguide core, the ridge having a first end and a second end, each of which is shaped into a width-wise taper, the ridge having a top surface that is coplanar with an upper surface of the modulator wave guide structure;
- a trough formed in the top surface of the ridge in a lengthwise direction of the base waveguide core, the trough having a length less than a length of the ridge, and a height not exceeding a height of the ridge;
- and
- a cladding disposed beneath and on each side of the modulator waveguide structure;
- a first electrode and a second electrode disposed on the upper surface of the modulator waveguide structure, the first electrode and the second electrode being coplanar with the base waveguide core and disposed on opposing sides of the base waveguide core at a predetermined distance from the base waveguide core;
- and
- an electrooptic film characterized by a refractive index that changes in response to an electric field applied to the electrooptic film, the electrooptic film disposed on a substrate that has a lower refractive index than that of the electrooptic film, the electrooptic film arranged such that a surface of the electrooptic film is in contact with a surface of the trough and overlaying the base waveguide core, the ridge, the first electrode, and the second electrode.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.