Optical waveguides with trench structures

US6621972B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology · US

Inventors

• Lionel C. Kimerling · Concord, US
• Kazumi Wada · Lexington, US
• Hermann A. Haus · Lexington, US
• Milov Popovic · Brookline, US
• Shoji Akiyama · Annaka City, JP

Key dates

• Filing date: Oct 15, 2001
• Grant date: Sep 16, 2003
• Expiry date: Nov 30, 2021

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G02B2006/12195
• WIPO field: Optics
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

Arrangements using air trench cladding enables minimization of the evanescent tail to suppress light coupling to radiation modes, resulting in low-loss bends and splitters. Structures including sharp bends and T-splitters without transmission loss, crossings without crosstalk, and couplers from/to fibers and with out-of-plane waveguides without substantial loss are provided with such air trench claddings. Air trench sidewall cladding of waveguides pushes evanescent tails toward top and bottom claddings to enhance coupling between vertically positioned waveguides. Fabrication processes using wafer bonding technology are also provided.