Temperature stable integrated optical device
AssigneeBookham Technology PLC
InventorsArnold Peter Roscoe Harpin, Andrew George Rickman
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present invention is a temperature stable integrated optical device which is substantially insensitive to temperature variations. The device, such as an interferometer, includes sub-sections of a different light transmissive material within the optical pathways. The relative lengths of the two different material waveguides can be selected so as to achieve temperature insensitivity. A suitable balance is to ensure that the ratio of the difference in sub-path lengths of the first and second materials is equal to the ratio of the refractive index gradient with temperature of the second material to the refractive index gradient with temperature of the first material. Preferable materials are silicon and silicon nitride.
Claims12
An integrated optical device comprising at least a first and a second associated optical pathway, at least the first associated optical pathway including at least two sub-sections of a first and a second different transmissive material, the different materials exhibiting a different temperature dependence of refractive index, the lengths of the pathways and of sub-sections being selected such that the device is substantially temperature insensitive, wherein the second associated optical pathway also includes a sub-section of a different transmissive material.
An integrated optical device comprising at least a first and a second associated optical pathway, at least the first associated optical pathway including at least two sub-sections of a first and a second different transmissive material, the different materials exhibiting a different temperature dependence of refractive index, the lengths of the pathways and of sub-sections being selected such that the device is substantially temperature insensitive, wherein each of the first and second associated optical pathways includes only two sub-sections.
An integrated optical device comprising at least a first and a second associated optical pathway, at least the first associated optical pathway including at least two sub-sections of a first and a second different transmissive material, the different materials exhibiting a different temperature dependence of refractive index, the lengths of the pathways and of sub-sections being selected such that the device is substantially temperature insensitive, wherein two sub-sections are included on two of the at least first and second associated optical pathways.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.