Electro-optic device
AssigneeBookham Technology PLC
InventorsStephen James Crampton, Arnold Peter Roscoe Harpin, Andrew George Rickman
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The device comprises a layer of silicon separated from a substrate by a layer of insulating material. A rib having an upper surface and two side surfaces is formed in the layer of silicon to provide a waveguide for the transmission of optical signals. A lateral doped junction is formed between the side surfaces of the rib such that an electrical signal can be applied across the junction to control the density of charge carriers across a substantial part of the cross-sectional area of the rib thereby actively altering the effective refractive index of the waveguide.
Claims15
A method of manufacturing an electro-optical device comprising the following steps:
- selecting a silicon-on-insulator wafer comprising an upper layer of silicon separated from a substrate by an insulating layer;
- increasing the thickness of the upper silicon layer thereof by epitaxial growth, etching the upper silicon layer to form a rib therein having dimensions large enough to be compatible with fibre optics and forming a lateral doped junction comprising a p-doped region and an n-doped region on opposite sides of the rib so as to form a pin diode across the rib waveguide.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.