US 6,807,353 B1 · Microfabricated bragg waveguide

Abstract

A microfabricated Bragg waveguide of semiconductor-compatible material having a hollow core and a multilayer dielectric cladding can be fabricated by integrated circuit technologies. The microfabricated Bragg waveguide can comprise a hollow channel waveguide or a hollow fiber. The Bragg fiber can be fabricated by coating a sacrificial mandrel or mold with alternating layers of high- and low-refractive-index dielectric materials and then removing the mandrel or mold to leave a hollow tube with a multilayer dielectric cladding. The Bragg channel waveguide can be fabricated by forming a trench embedded in a substrate and coating the inner wall of the trench with a multilayer dielectric cladding. The thicknesses of the alternating layers can be selected to satisfy the condition for minimum radiation loss of the guided wave.

Claims37

Dependent claims

A microfabricated Bragg channel waveguide of semiconductor-compatible materials, comprising:

a closed trench having an annular hollow core of arbitrary cross-section embedded in a substrate for the propagation of an optical wave therein, and
a continuous multilayer dielectric cladding deposited conformably on the inner wall of the annular hollow core, the cladding comprising at least one alternating layer of a first dielectric material having a high index of refraction and a second dielectric material having a lower index of refraction, such that the thicknesses of the alternating layers satisfy the condition for minimum radiation loss at the wavelength of the optical wave.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Microfabricated bragg waveguide

Life of this patent

Microfabricated bragg waveguide

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims37