Thermally Tunable Optical Filter with Single Crystalline Spacer Fabricated by Fusion Bonding
AssigneeAegis Lightwave, Inc.
InventorRong Sun
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A thermally tunable Fabry-Perot optical filter includes a single crystalline sheet resistance heater layer. A single crystalline semiconductor spacer layer is positioned proximate to and in thermal communication with the single crystalline sheet resistance heater layer. A first distributed Bragg reflector is positioned proximate to a first surface of the single crystalline semiconductor spacer layer. A second distributed Bragg reflector is positioned proximate to a second surface of the single crystalline semiconductor spacer layer.
Claims34
A thermally tunable Fabry-Perot optical filter comprising:
- a. a single crystalline sheet resistance heater layer;
- b. a single crystalline semiconductor spacer layer positioned proximate to and in thermal communication with the single crystalline sheet resistance heater layer;
- c. a first distributed Bragg reflector positioned proximate to a first surface of the single crystalline semiconductor spacer layer;
- and
- d. a second distributed Bragg reflector positioned proximate to a second surface of the single crystalline semiconductor spacer layer.
A thermally tunable Fabry-Perot optical filter comprising:
- a. a single crystalline sheet resistance heater layer;
- b. a spacer layer positioned proximate to and in thermal communication with the single crystalline sheet resistance heater layer, wherein the spacer layer has a thermo-optic coefficient greater than 10−4, is substantially optical transparent to optical signals being filtered, and is thermally stable during fabrication;
- c. a first distributed Bragg reflector positioned proximate to a first surface of the spacer layer;
- and
- d. a second distributed Bragg reflector positioned proximate to a second surface of the spacer layer.
A method of fabricating a thermally tunable Fabry-Perot optical filter, the method comprising:
- a. forming a single-crystalline semiconductor cavity on a first half section of the Fabry-Perot optical filter;
- b. depositing a first distributed Bragg reflector on the first half section of the tunable optical filter;
- c. forming a single crystalline heater on a second half section of the tunable optical filter;
- d. depositing a second distributed Bragg reflector on the second half section of the tunable optical filter;
- and
- e. fusion bonding the first and second half sections of the thermally tunable Fabry-Perot optical filter together, thereby forming the Fabry-Perot optical filter.
A method of fabricating a thermally tunable Fabry-Perot optical filter, the method comprising:
- a. forming a single-crystalline semiconductor cavity on a first half section of the Fabry-Perot optical filter;
- b. forming a single crystalline heater on a second half section of the tunable optical filter;
- c. depositing a second distributed Bragg reflector on the second half section of the tunable optical filter;
- d. fusion bonding the first and second half sections of the thermally tunable Fabry-Perot optical filter together;
- and
- e. depositing a first Bragg reflector on the single-crystalline semiconductor cavity, thereby forming the Fabry-Perot optical filter.
A method of fabricating a thermally tunable Fabry-Perot optical filter, the method comprising:
- a. forming a single-crystalline semiconductor cavity on a first half section of the Fabry-Perot optical filter;
- b. depositing a first distributed Bragg reflector on a first surface of the single-crystalline semiconductor cavity;
- c. depositing a second distributed Bragg reflector on a second surface of the single-crystalline semiconductor cavity;
- d. forming a single crystalline heater on a second half section of the tunable optical filter;
- and
- e. fusion bonding the first and second half sections of the thermally tunable Fabry-Perot optical filter together.
A method of fabricating a thermally tunable Fabry-Perot optical filter, the method comprising:
- a. forming a single-crystalline semiconductor cavity;
- b. forming at least one single crystalline heater adjacent to the single-crystalline semiconductor cavity in a co-planar direction;
- c. depositing a first distributed Bragg reflector on a first surface of the co-planar single-crystalline semiconductor cavity and the at least one single crystalline heater;
- d. depositing a quarter wavelength of dielectric material on the co-planar single-crystalline semiconductor cavity and the at least one single crystalline heater;
- and
- e. depositing a second distributed Bragg reflector on the quarter wavelength of dielectric material.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.