Planar waveguide structure with segmented trenches and closely spaced, optically isolated waveguides
US6853792B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 16, 2003 |
| Grant date | Feb 8, 2005 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 5, 2023 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02B2006/121
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A design for controlling optical modes in a closely spaced weakly confined waveguide array is described wherein the crosstalk between individual waveguides is suppressed by segmented deep etched trenches. One exemplary embodiment of the invention incorporates a shallow etched ridge waveguide array at the output coupler of a semiconductor optical demultiplexer. In this situation, all higher order modes and supermodes are filtered by a sequence of deep etched trenches located between the shallow etched ridge waveguides. The trenches have a minimal effect on the single fundamental mode of the individual shallow etched waveguides because the trenches are located far enough from the ridge waveguides where an evanescent tail of the fundamental mode approaches a minimal power level. The trenches affect and suppress all other modes including higher order leaky modes and array supermodes leaving the single fundamental mode propagating in the arrayed waveguides.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.