Integrated photonic isolator

Abstract

Described herein are photonic isolators that utilize integrated photonic polarization controllers to block (or at least attenuate) back-reflections. A photonic isolator includes a first polarization controller formed on a first photonic integrated circuit (PIC) and a second polarization controller formed on a second PIC. The photonic isolator is arranged to permit passage of light in one direction (e.g., from a transmitting PIC to a receiving PIC) while blocking or at least attenuating passage of light in the opposite direction (e.g., from the receiving PIC to the transmitting PIC). The isolator described herein may be compatible with standard semiconductor fabrication processes, such as complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) processes, which provide scalability and high-volume manufacturing. Accordingly, some embodiments relate to an integrated photonic isolator that can be manufactured using CMOS fabrication techniques without the use of exotic magnetic materials.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.