Optical components
AssigneeJDS Uniphase Corporation
InventorRoberto Longone
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An optical component, such as, for example, a Mach-Zehnder modulator, in which the ground electrodes are formed directly on a surface of a substrate, that is, without the intermediary of or presence of conventional buffer dielectric layers. Forming the optical component without a dielectric layer between the ground electrodes and the substrate allows for a reduction in the drive voltage in the operation of the modulator.
Claims7
An optical component comprising:
- a substrate;
- first and second optical waveguides formed in respective first and second spaced apart surface portions of said substrate;
- a first electrically insulating buffer layer formed on said substrate so as to overlie said first surface portion of said substrate;
- a second electrically insulating buffer layer formed on a third surface portion of said substrate between and spaced apart from said first and second surface portions of said substrate and from said first buffer layer;
- a first ground electrode formed on said first buffer layer so as to overlie said first optical waveguide, and being spaced apart from an edge of said first buffer layer and not being electrically connected to said substrate;
- a signal electrode formed on said second buffer layer so as to overlie part of said third surface portion of said substrate, and being spaced apart from edges of said second buffer layer and not electrically connected to said substrate;
- and
- a second ground electrode formed directly on and thereby contacting a fourth surface portion of said substrate spaced apart from said third surface portion, such that said second surface portion of said substrate lies between said third and fourth surface portions of said substrate.
A method of applying an electrical field to an optical waveguide structure having first and second optical waveguides formed in respective first and second spaced apart surface portions of a substrate, said method comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing a first electrically insulating buffer layer on said substrate so as to overlie said first surface portion of said substrate;
- (b) providing a second electrically insulating buffer layer on a third surface portion of said substrate between and spaced apart from said first and second surface portions of said substrate and from said first buffer layer;
- (c) forming a first electrode on said first buffer layer so as to overlie said first optical waveguide, while being spaced apart from an edge of said first buffer layer and not being electrically connected to said substrate;
- (d) forming a second electrode directly on and thereby contacting a fourth surface portion of said substrate spaced apart from said second surface portion, such that said third surface portion of said substrate lies between said first and second surface portions of said substrate;
- (e) forming a signal electrode layer on said second buffer layer so as to overlie part of said third surface portion of said substrate, while being spaced apart from edges of said second buffer layer and not being electrically connected to said substrate;
- and
- (f) applying a drive voltage between said signal electrode and said first and second electrodes, so as to produce an electric field in said first optical waveguide between said signal electrode and said first electrode layer on said first buffer layer, and to produce an electric field in said second optical waveguide between said signal electrode and said second electrode layer directly on said substrate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.