Electro-optical modulators
AssigneeLucent Technologies Inc.
InventorsChristoph Georg Erben, Douglas M. Gill, Howard Edan Katz, Mark Lee
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An electro-optical modulator includes an optical waveguide for carrying an optical carrier wave and a control waveguide for carrying a control wave. The optical waveguide includes a cladding layer and a core. The two waveguides are collinear and overlap in an interaction region so that the refractive index of the optical waveguide responds to electric fields generated by the control wave in the interaction region. The refractive index of the cladding layer at the control wave's wavelength is higher than the refractive index of the core at the optical carrier wave's wavelength.
Claims20
An optical modulator, comprising:
- an optical waveguide that includes a cladding layer and a core for carrying an optical carrier wave;
- and
- a control waveguide for carrying a control wave, the waveguides being collinear, the optical waveguide having a refractive index that is responsive to electric fields produced by the control wave;
- and
- wherein the refractive index of the cladding layer at the control wave's wavelength, is higher than the refractive index of the core at the optical carrier wave's wavelength.
An optical modulator, comprising:
- an optical waveguide that includes a cladding layer and a core for carrying an optical carrier wave;
- and
- a control waveguide for carrying a control wave, the waveguides being collinear, the optical waveguide having a refractive index responsive to electric fields produced by the control wave;
- and
- wherein the refractive index of the core is lower than the refractive index of the cladding at the control wave's wavelength.
An optical modulator, comprising:
- an interferometer having two optical waveguides with associated cores, one of the cores having a refractive index that is responsive to applied electric fields;
- a pair of electrodes extending parallel to the one of the cores;
- a cladding disposed between the one of the cores and the electrodes;
- and
- wherein the refractive index of the one of the cores at a wavelength between about 1.3 microns and about 1.7 microns is smaller than the refractive index of the cladding at one of a microwave's wavelength, a millimeter wave's wavelength, and a submillimeter wave's wavelength.
A method of electro-optically modulating an optical carrier wave with a control wave, comprising:
- transmitting a sequence of wavefronts of the optical carrier wave to an optical waveguide;
- the optical carrier wave having a first wavelength;
- and
- transmitting a control wave having a second wavelength to a control waveguide to electro-optically modulate velocities of the wavefronts in the optical waveguide, a dielectric cladding adjacent the optical waveguide having a refractive index at the second wavelength that is larger than the refractive index in the optical waveguide at the first wavelength.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.