Method for altering the temperature dependence of optical waveguides devices
US5938811A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | May 23, 1997 |
| Grant date | Aug 17, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 23, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02B6/29398
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
In accordance with the invention glass waveguide devices are provided with enhanced temperature stability by incorporating within appropriate lengths of the waveguides a transparent compensating material having a refractive index variation with temperature that differs substantially from that of the waveguide. The compensating material can be a non-glass material, such as a liquid, driven into the glass by heat and pressure. In a preferred embodiment, D.sub.2 O is incorporated into waveguides for optical communications. The D.sub.2 O is transparent to the preferred communications wavelengths centered at about 1.55 .mu.m and has a dn/dT opposite in polarity to the dn/dT of glass. The resulting structure exhibits enhanced temperature stability with reduced magnitude of dn/dT. The technique is particularly useful in devices based on interference between multiple waveguides, as it is not necessary to reduce dn/dT to zero in the respective waveguides. It suffices to compensate the differences. Such compensation can be achieved by compensating materials having dn/dT of either the same polarity as the dn/dT of the waveguides or the opposite polarity. Preferred embodiments include routers,…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.