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US 5,345,328 AGranted
Tandem resonator reflectance modulator
AssigneeSandia Corporation
InventorsIan J. Fritz, Joel R. Wendt
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A wide band optical modulator is grown on a substrate as tandem Fabry-Perot resonators including three mirrors spaced by two cavities. The absorption of one cavity is changed relative to the absorption of the other cavity by an applied electric field, to cause a change in total reflected light, as light reflecting from the outer mirrors is in phase and light reflecting from the inner mirror is out of phase with light from the outer mirrors.
Claims16
A wide band optical modulator comprising:
- a substrate;
- tandem Fabry-Perot resonators epitaxially grown on said substrate, comprising:
- three mirrors, M1, M2, and M3, each mirror having a high reflectance zone centered at a Bragg wavelength .lambda..sub.B, M3 being adjacent said substrate;
- and
- two cavities, C1 and C2, spaced from each other by M2 in a stack grown on M3, M1 being on top of said stack, the absorption of C2 being changed relative to the absorption of C1 by an applied electric field,
- wherein light reflecting from M1 and M3 is in phase and light reflecting from M2 is out of phase with light from M1 and M3.
3 more elements
A wide band optical modulator epitaxially grown as a stack on a substrate, said modulator comprising:
- first means for reflecting a portion RE1 of incident light on said modulator and for transmitting another portion TR1;
- second means for reflecting a portion RE2 of TR1 and for transmitting another portion TR2, wherein RE2 is 180.degree. out of phase with RE1;
- third means for reflecting a portion RE3 of TR2, wherein RE3 is in phase with RE1;
- and
- means for modulating the intensity of TR2, wherein the output of said modulator is a function of RE1+RE2+RE3.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.