Optical transmitter having an array of surface-coupled electro-absorption modulators
US10411807B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 5, 2018 |
| Grant date | Sep 10, 2019 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 5, 2038 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02F2202/108
- WIPO fieldTelecommunications
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An optical data transmitter in which surface-coupled reflective electro-absorption modulators are placed into different interferometer arms and operated in a manner that enables the optical data transmitter to transmit an optical output signal modulated using PAM, QPSK, or QAM modulation. In some embodiments, the optical data transmitter is configured to generate a PDM optical output signal by using two such interferometers and a quarter-wavelength plate configured to cause the output polarizations of the two interferometers to be mutually orthogonal. The electro-absorption modulators are surface-coupled in the sense that, in operation, each of these devices receives input light and outputs modulated light along a direction that is substantially orthogonal to the main plane of the device. In an example embodiment, an electro-absorption modulator includes a PIN diode comprising an MQW structure and implemented using a stack of relatively thin semiconductors layers that are parallel to the main plane of the device.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.