Optical waveguides – With optical coupler – Particular coupling function
Patent
1996-12-27
1998-03-24
Palmer, Phan T. H.
Optical waveguides
With optical coupler
Particular coupling function
385 31, 385 39, 385 46, G02B 626
Patent
active
057321710
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a device for spatially separating and/or joining optical wavelength channels which has a substrate with a substrate edge and substrate surface, a pair of planar waveguides disposed on a surface of the substrate waveguide with each planar waveguide having a first end face and a second end face, and an optical phase arrangement comprising a plurality of strip-type optical waveguides of different optical lengths, which extend in a curved fashion, being disposed on the substrate surface and extending between the first end faces of the two planar waveguides. The two planar waveguides are arranged so that the second end faces face away from the phase-shift arrangement with the second end face of one of the planar waveguides facing a substrate edge. The optical connections between the first end faces of the planar waveguides and the waveguides of the phase shifter are arranged so that wavelength channels can be coupled in at a common point on the second end face of the one planar waveguide and are distributed in the one planar waveguide into all of the waveguides of the phase-shift arrangement and the wavelength channels distributed on the waveguides of the phase-shift channel are then fed by these waveguides to the first end face of the other planar waveguide and are distributed by optical interference in this other planar waveguide onto points spatially separated from one another on the second end face of the other planar waveguide for the purpose of individually being outputted from the other planar waveguide, or the direction can be reversed so that the waveguide channels can be launched into the spatially separated points of the second end face of the other planar waveguide and can be distributed in this other waveguide into all of the waveguides of the phase-shift arrangement, and the wavelength channels are fed into the one planar waveguide and are fed in this one planar waveguide by optical interference to a common point on the second end face facing the substrate edge for the purpose of a common outputting from this one planar waveguide.
Such devices are increasingly of interest in optical information transmission as spectral filters for wavelength-division multiplex operation (see, for example, A. R. Vellekoop, M. K. Smit: Four-channel integrated-optic wavelength demultiplexer with weak polarization dependence, IEEE J. Lightwave Tech. 9 (1991), pages 310-314; H. Takahashi, I. Nishi, Y. Hibino: 10 GHz spacing optical frequency division multiplexer based on arrayed-waveguide grating, Electron. Lett. 28 (1992), pages 380-382; C. Dragone, C. A. Edwards, R. C. Kistler: Integrated optics N.times.N multiplexer on silicon, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters, Vol. 3, No. 10 (1991) (1992), pages 896-899; R. Adar, C. H. Henry, C. Dragone, R. C. Kistler, M. A. Milbrodt: Broadband array multiplexers made with silica waveguides on silicon, IEEE J. Lightwave Tech. 11 (1993), pages 212-219). They are also referred to as phased-array-filters.
Like conventional grating spectrographs, such devices permit parallel filtering of many optical wavelength channels.
The optical phase-shift arrangement provided in such an arrangement, and composed of the plurality of strip-type optical waveguides of different length extending in a curved fashion forms a phase-shift region.
A device of the type mentioned at the beginning which has already been proposed has a launching arrangement composed of at least one strip-type optical waveguide which extends in a curved fashion opposite to the waveguides of the phase-shift arrangement and which optically connects the second end face, facing the substrate edge, of one planar waveguide to this substrate edge. The second end face, which is, averted from the phase-shift arrangement, of the other planar waveguide is optically connected, by strip-type optical waveguides of an output arrangement which extend in a curved fashion opposite to the waveguides of the phase-shift arrangement, to another substrate edge assigned to this other planar wavegu
REFERENCES:
patent: 5136671 (1992-08-01), Dragone
patent: 5226100 (1993-07-01), Maerz
patent: 5243672 (1993-09-01), Dragone
patent: 5559906 (1996-09-01), Maerz
A.R. Vellekoop et al, "Four-Channel Integrated-Optic Wavelength Demultiplexer with Weak Polarization Dependence", Journal of Lightwave Technology, vol. 9, No. 3, Mar. 1991, pp. 310-314.
H. Takahashi et al, "10GHz Spacing Optical Frequency Division Multiplexer Based on Arrayed-Waveguide Grating", Electronics Letters, vol. 28, No. 4, Feb. 13, 1992, pp. 380-382.
C. Dragone et al, "Integrated Optics NxN Multiplexer on Silicon", IEEE Photonics Technology Letters, vol. 3, No. 10, Oct. 1991, pp. 896-899.
R. Adar et al, "Broad-Band Array Multiplexers Made with Silica Waveguides on Silicon", Journal of Lightwave Technology, vol. 11, No. 2, Feb. 1993, pp. 212-219.
Vellekoop et al, "A Small-Size Polarization Splitter Based on a Planar Optical Phased Array", Journal of Lightwave Technology, vol. 8, No. 1, Jan. 1990, pp. 118-124.
Heise Gerhard
Marz Reinhardt
Michel Herbert
Reichelt Achim
Palmer Phan T. H.
Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
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