Optical waveguide gratings having roughened cladding for reduced short wavelength cladding mode loss

US6408118B1 · kind B1 · utility

Assignee

• Agere Systems Guardian Corporation · US

Inventors

• Ashish Ahuja · Portola Valley, US
• Benjamin John Eggleton · Summit, US
• Jon W. Engelberth · Denville, US
• Arturo Hale · New York, US
• Glen Robert Kowach · Fanwood, US
• Sharad Ramanathan · Springfield, US
• Steven H. Simon · Hoboken, US
• Paul S. Westbrook · Bound Brook, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Aug 25, 2000
• Grant date: Jun 18, 2002
• Expiry date: Dec 13, 2020

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G02B2006/12107
• WIPO field: Optics
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

In accordance with the invention, an optical waveguide comprising a longitudinally extending core housing an optical grating and a cladding layer peripherally surrounding the core, is provided with an outer surface of the cladding layer having one or more perturbations. Each perturbation has a height with respect to the core that varies by at least 0.1 times a Bragg wavelength of the grating over the surface of the perturbation and covers an extent of the outer surface whose linear dimensions are less than 1 cm. The perturbations suppress cladding mode spectra and reduce short wavelength cladding mode loss.