Photonic integrated circuit and characterization method
AssigneeUniversity of Rochester
InventorsThomas G. Brown, Debra Saulnier, Tyler Howard
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method for characterizing a photonic integrated circuit comprising includes coupling an evanescent field into a scattering element adjacent to a guiding layer of the photonic integrated circuit. The evanescent field is of an optical mode of light propagating in the guiding layer, and has an in-medium wavelength in the guiding layer. A maximum spatial dimension of the scattering element is less than the in-medium wavelength. The method includes scattering, with the scattering element, the coupled evanescent field as a reference scattered-signal. The method also includes detecting one of the reference scattered-signal and a signal derived therefrom.
Claims20
A photonic integrated circuit, comprising:
- a substrate having a substrate top-surface and a substrate refractive index;
- a cladding layer on the substrate top-surface and having a cladding top-surface and a cladding refractive index;
- a guiding layer located between the substrate top-surface and the cladding top-surface and having (i) a core refractive index exceeding both the substrate refractive index and the cladding refractive index, (ii) a guiding-layer thickness above the substrate top-surface, and (iii) a guiding-layer width, in a direction parallel to the substrate top-surface, the guiding layer supporting an optical mode that extends to a decay-range into the cladding layer in the direction, an in-medium wavelength of the optical mode exceeding both the guiding-layer thickness and the guiding-layer width;
- and
- a scattering element (i) having a bottom surface, proximate the cladding top-surface, located between the substrate top-surface and the cladding top-surface and (ii) separated from the guiding layer by a gap-distance that is less than the decay-range, and (iii) having (a) a maximum spatial dimension that is less than the in-medium wavelength, and (b) a scattering refractive index that exceeds the cladding refractive index.
A method for characterizing a photonic integrated circuit comprising:
- coupling an evanescent field into a scattering element proximate to a guiding layer of the photonic integrated circuit, the evanescent field being of an optical mode of light propagating in the guiding layer and having an in-medium wavelength in the guiding layer, a maximum spatial dimension of the scattering element being less than the in-medium wavelength;
- scattering, with the scattering element, the coupled evanescent field as a reference scattered-signal;
- and
- detecting one of the reference scattered-signal and a signal derived therefrom.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.