Article comprising a planar optical waveguide with optically non-linear core
US6208792A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 20, 1999 |
| Grant date | Mar 27, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 20, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02B2006/12035
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Waveguides according to this invention have a chalcogenide glass core that comprises Se and one or both of As and Ge, and further comprises one or more dopant elements selected from the elements that cause a change in optical energy gap E.sub.g of the glass core. The amount of dopant is selected such that E.sub.g is equal to or less than a 2-photon energy 2h.nu., where h is Planck's constant and .nu.=c/.lambda., where c is the speed of light in vacuum and .lambda. is an operating wavelength. The dopant elements furthermore are selected such that the chalcogenide glass core has a nonlinear refractive index n.sub.2 greater than 200n.sub.2 (SiO.sub.2), where n.sub.2 (SiO.sub.2) is the nonlinear index of silica at .lambda.. Typically, .lambda. is about 1.55 .mu.m. Exemplary, the dopant elements are selected from Sb, Bi, Sn, Pb, In, Tl, Cu, Ag and S. Currently preferred dopants are Te, Sb, Tl, Cu and Ag. Waveguides according to the invention are advantageously used in all-optical switches, optical logic elements and other means for optical processing of optical pulses.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.