Optical devices
AssigneeJDS Uniphase Corporation
InventorGary Gibson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present invention relates to optical devices and, more particularly, to optical waveguide devices in which characteristics of a light signal are modulated or changed in accordance with an applied electric field. Conventionally, in such devices, such as, for example, a Mach-Zehnder modulator, DC drift problems, as are well known within the art, must be surmounted if the optical device is to meet minimum performance criteria. Suitably the present invention provides a layer of an oxide of silicon, preferably substantially, free of metallic impurities, where the ratio of oxygen to silicon is greater than 2 and is preferably greater than or equal to 2.2.
Claims16
An optical device comprising a substrate bearing an optical waveguide, a buffer layer, and at least one electrode formed on the buffer layer for influencing an optical field within the waveguide in response to an applied electric field;
- the buffer layer being formed of SiOx such that x>2.
A method of fabricating a buffer layer for an optical device;
- the method comprising the step of depositing silica onto a substrate in the presence of an activated or an ionized flowing gas mixture comprising O2 such that the buffer layer comprises an SiOx film where x>2.
A method of fabricating a buffer layer for an optical device;
- the method comprising the steps of depositing silica onto a substrate in the presence of an O2 flow to produce an SiOx film, where x>2, on the substrate.
A method of fabricating a buffer layer for an optical device;
- the method comprising the substantially simultaneous steps of evaporation deposition, ion plating or sputtering deposition of an oxidized silicon film on the substrate in a relative vacuum atmosphere, flowing a gas mixture including at least O2 onto the substrate surface, and ionizing the flowing gas mixture by application of a bias voltage to the gas mixture. The main aim of the fabrication method is to achieve a chemical composition of the deposited SiOx film where the oxygen is controlled to be x>2 and preferably x≧2.2 by adjusting the gas mixture flow rate to achieve at least one desired partial pressure and/or the applied bias voltage.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.