Light waveguide coupler having three or more gates and utilizing the beam splitter principle and the method for manufacture

US4989937A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• Siemens Aktiengesellschaft · DE

Inventors

• Hans Mahlein · Unterhaching, DE
• Gerhard Winzer · Munich, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: May 16, 1986
• Grant date: Feb 5, 1991
• Expiry date: May 16, 2006

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G02B2006/12109
• WIPO field: Optics
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

A method for forming a three gate optical coupler, operating on a beam splitting principle, or a five gate optical coupler characterized by providing a carrier block having a pair of marks to define a line of a parting plane, creating a continuous branching waveguide structure having a waveguide node located adjacent to the parting plane of the carrier block by a ion exchange method, parting the carrier block in the parting plane, polishing the parted surfaces and forming a light transmitting optical layer, such as a frequency selective filter layer on a polished surface, then rejoining the two parts with the waveguides aligned. The method is particularly useful in forming three gate and five gate frequency multiplexers/demultiplexers, which have a continuous light waveguide structure except in the location of the frequency selective filter layer.