Optical resonator formed in a planar optical waveguide with distributed optical structures
AssigneeLightSmyth Technologies Inc
InventorsChristoph M. Greiner, Dmitri Iazikov, Thomas W. Mossberg
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Abstract
An optical apparatus comprises a planar optical waveguide having at least two sets of diffractive elements. The planar optical waveguide substantially confines in at least one transverse spatial dimension optical signals propagating therein. The two diffractive element sets define an optical resonator that supports at least one resonant optical cavity mode. An optical signal in one of the resonant optical cavity modes is successively incident on the diffractive elements of each of the diffractive element sets.
Claims38
An optical apparatus, comprising a planar optical waveguide having at least two sets of diffractive elements, the planar optical waveguide substantially confining in at least one transverse spatial dimension optical signals propagating therein, wherein:
- the two diffractive element sets define an optical resonator that supports at least one resonant optical cavity mode;
- an optical signal in one of the resonant optical cavity modes is successively incident on the diffractive elements of at least one of the diffractive element sets;
- and
- the diffractive elements of at least one of the sets are collectively arranged within the optical medium so as to exhibit a positional variation in amplitude, optical separation, or spatial phase over some portion of the set, the diffractive elements of the set being collectively arranged so as to apply a transfer function to the optical signal successively incident on the diffractive elements of the set, the transfer function being determined at least in part by said positional variation in amplitude, optical separation, or spatial phase exhibited by the diffractive elements of the set.
A method for forming an optical apparatus comprising a planar optical waveguide having at least two sets of diffractive elements, the planar optical waveguide substantially confining in at least one transverse spatial dimension optical signals propagating therein, the method comprising:
- forming the planar optical waveguide;
- and
- forming the diffractive elements,
- wherein:
- the two diffractive element sets define an optical resonator that supports at least one resonant optical cavity mode;
- an optical signal in one of the resonant optical cavity modes is successively incident on the diffractive elements of at least one of the diffractive element sets;
- and
- the diffractive elements of at least one of the sets are collectively arranged within the optical medium so as to exhibit a positional variation in amplitude, optical separation, or spatial phase over some portion of the set, the diffractive elements of the set being collectively arranged so as to apply a transfer function to the optical signal successively incident on the diffractive elements of the set, the transfer function being determined at least in part by said positional variation in amplitude, optical separation, or spatial phase exhibited by the diffractive elements of the set.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.