Electro-optic waveguide device

Details Electro-optic waveguide device Electro-optic waveguide device

1991-08-16

1993-08-24

Ullah, Akm E.

Optical waveguides

Directional optical modulation within an optical waveguide

Electro-optic

372 44, 385 4, 257431, G02B 600, G02B 610

Patent

active

052395987

ABSTRACT:
An electro-optic waveguide device (10) comprises an assembly of waveguides (30) connected to a common light input region (41) and forming a common far field diffraction pattern (44). The device (10) comprises an n.sup.+ GaAs substrate (14) bearing a waveguide lower cladding layer (16) of n.sup.+ Ga.sub.0.9 Al.sub.0.1 As, which is in turn surmounted by a waveguide core layer (18) of n.sup.- GaAs. The layer (18) has grooves (20) defining the waveguides (30), each of which has a respective Schottky contact (32). Each contact (32) is biased negative with respect to the substrate (14), which reverse biases the respective Schottky diode waveguide structure. The waveguide core layer (18) has electro-optic properties, and its refractive index varies with electric field. The phase of light emerging from each waveguide is therefore independently variable by means of its applied bias voltage. The waveguides (30) are arranged to provide output confined very largely to lowest order spatial modes, so that they produce a single far field diffraction pattern (44). Varying the set of bias voltages applied to the waveguides (30) produces output phase variation which changes the position of the diffraction pattern principal maximum (46) to produce beam steering.

REFERENCES:
patent: 4778235 (1988-10-01), Fujiwara
patent: 5082342 (1992-01-01), Wight et al.
Applied Optics, vol. 25, No. 9, May 1986, (New York, US) H. Inoue et al: "Switching Characteristics of GaAs Directional Coupler Optical (con't) Switches", pp. 1484-1490.
Electronics Letters, vol. 23, No. 20, Sep. 24, 1987, (Stevenage, Herts, GB) J. H. Abeles et al: "Integration of GaAs MESFET Drivers with GaAs (cont) Directional-Coupler Electrooptic Modulators", pp. 1037-1038.
Journal of Lightwave Technology, vol. LT-5, No. 10, Oct. 10, 1987, R. Walker: "High-Speed Electrooptic Modulation in GaAs/GaAlAs (cont) Waveguide Devices ", pp. 1444-1453.
Journal of Applied Physics, vol. 50, No. 8, Aug. 1979 (New York, US) A. Carenco et al: "Multiwavelength GaAs Rib Waveguide Directional-(cont) Coupler Switch With `Stepped .DELTA..beta.` Schottky Electrodes", pp. 5139-5141.
"Opto-electronic Technology and Lightwave Communications Systems" Edited by Chinlon Lin, Van Nostrand Reinhold 1989 Code No. (con't) ISBON 0-422-216050-4, pp. 583-584.
NASA Report No. JPL D-1885, "Electro Optic Phase Modulator Array" by J. Katz et al, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, CA Institute of Technology.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

Rating

Electro-optic waveguide device does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.

If you have personal experience with Electro-optic waveguide device, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Electro-optic waveguide device will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-835231