Thermo-optic tunable optical attenuator
AssigneeElectronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
InventorsYoo-Hong Min, Myung-Hyun Lee, Jung-Jin Ju, Seung-Koo Park, Jung-Yun Do
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Disclosed is a thermo-optic tunable attenuator, which comprises a single mode channel optical waveguide, an optical waveguide of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer structure coupled with the single mode channel optical waveguide, the optical waveguide including two symmetric Y-branches, and two metal heating wires for applying power to one side of each of the two symmetric Y-branches, wherein the two metal heating wires are in a facing relationship with each other, wherein a refractive index of the optical waveguide is changed in response to a power applied to any one of the two metal heating wires.
Claims6
A thermo-optic tunable attenuator, comprising:
- a single mode channel optical waveguide;
- an optical waveguide of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer structure coupled with the single mode channel optical waveguide, the optical waveguide including two symmetric Y-branches which are connected to each other through a transition region;
- and
- a first metal heating wire and a second metal heating wire connected through a first metal electrode positioned at a center of the transition region in a series fashion, the first metal heating wire disposed on one side of one of said two symmetric Y-branches in a facing relationship with the second metal heating wire disposed on one side of the other symmetric Y-branch, to apply power to one side of each of the two symmetric Y-branches,
- wherein a refractive index of the optical waveguide is changed in response to a power applied to any one of the two metal heating wires.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.