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US 12,656,554 B2Granted
Polarization control in optical couplers
AssigneeCiena Corporation
InventorMarie-Josee Picard
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method comprises: receiving a first optical wave into a first waveguide that confines the first optical wave to a first mode over a first portion of a coupling region; evanescently coupling the first optical wave, over the coupling region, from the first mode to a second mode confined by a second waveguide; and over at least a portion of the coupling region, rotating a polarization of an electric field of the first optical wave by approximately 90 degrees independently from an initial direction of polarization of the electric field of the first optical wave when received into the first waveguide.
Claims17
An article of manufacture comprising:
- a first waveguide configured to confine, over a first region, a first optical wave to a first mode and a second optical wave to a second mode, where the first mode is characterized by a first polarization of an electric field, and the second mode is characterized by a second polarization of an electric field perpendicular to the first polarization;
- and
- a second waveguide configured to confine, over a second region, the first optical wave to a third mode and the second optical wave to a fourth mode, where the third mode is characterized by a third polarization of an electric field perpendicular to the first polarization, and the fourth mode is characterized by a fourth polarization of an electric field perpendicular to the second polarization;
- where a portion of the first waveguide and a portion of the second waveguide are located in proximity to each other over a coupling region and are configured to (1) evanescently couple the first optical wave from the first mode to the third mode over the coupling region and (2) evanescently couple the second optical wave from the second mode to the fourth mode over the coupling region;
- and
- where the first waveguide comprises a waveguide core structure located on top of a waveguide slab structure, and at least one of a width of the waveguide core structure or a width of the waveguide slab structure spatially varies.
3 more elements
A method comprising:
- receiving, into a first waveguide, a first optical wave and a second optical wave;
- confining, with the first waveguide, the first optical wave to a first mode and the second optical wave to a second mode over a first region, where the first mode is characterized by a first polarization of an electric field, and the second mode is characterized by a second polarization of an electric field perpendicular to the first polarization;
- confining, with the second waveguide, the first optical wave to a third mode and the second optical wave to a fourth mode over a second region, where the third mode is characterized by a third polarization of an electric field perpendicular to the first polarization, and the fourth mode is characterized by a fourth polarization of an electric field perpendicular to the second polarization;
- and
- evanescently coupling, over a coupling region, (1) the first optical wave from the first mode to the third mode and (2) the second optical wave from the second mode to the fourth mode;
- where a diameter of the first mode and a diameter of the third mode differ by at least a factor of two, and a diameter of the second mode and a diameter of the fourth mode differ by at least a factor of two.
3 more elements
A method comprising:
- receiving a first optical wave into a first waveguide that confines the first optical wave to a first mode over a first portion of a coupling region;
- evanescently coupling the first optical wave, over the coupling region, from the first mode to a second mode confined by a second waveguide;
- and
- over at least a portion of the coupling region, rotating a polarization of an electric field of the first optical wave by approximately 90 degrees independently from an initial direction of polarization of the electric field of the first optical wave when received into the first waveguide;
- where a portion of the first waveguide and a portion of the second waveguide are located in proximity to each other over the coupling region and are separated by a distance less than respective transverse spatial intensity patterns associated with the first mode and the second mode.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.