Integrated silicon optical amplifier with reduced residual pump
US11652330B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignees
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 16, 2020 |
| Grant date | May 16, 2023 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 2, 2041 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01S3/2383
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An optical amplifier device employing a Mach-Zehnder Interferometer (MZI) that reduces the amount of residual pump power in the optical output of the amplifier is disclosed. The MZI amplifier employs two geometrically linear optical amplifier arms or two multi-spatial-mode racetrack optical amplifiers to amplify a signal with a pumping beam, with the signal output port having extremely low levels of residual pump power. The MZI optical amplifier is a silicon photonic integrated circuit, with all optical amplifiers, couplers, phase shifters, and optical attenuators formed of silicon photonic integrated circuit elements. The MZI optical amplifier may include one, two, or three MZI stages, and multiple MZI optical amplifiers may be used in parallel or sequentially to achieve higher overall signal gain or power. The MZI optical amplifier may employ Brillouin-scattering-based amplifiers, Raman-based integrated waveguide optical amplifiers, or Erbium-doped integrated waveguide optical amplifiers.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.