Optical waveguides – With optical coupler – Switch
Patent
1997-04-25
1999-10-05
Lee, John D.
Optical waveguides
With optical coupler
Switch
385122, 385129, G02B 635
Patent
active
059636831
ABSTRACT:
A unique ultra-fast, all-optical switching device or switch is made with readily available, relatively inexpensive, highly nonlinear optical materials, which includes highly nonlinear optical glasses, semiconductor crystals and/or multiple quantum well semiconductor materials. At the specified wavelengths, these optical materials have a sufficiently negative group velocity dispersion and high nonlinear index of refraction to support stable light bullets. The light bullets counter-propagate through, and interact within the waveguide to selectively change each others' directions of propagation into predetermined channels. In one embodiment, the switch utilizes a rectangularly planar slab waveguide, and further includes two central channels and a plurality of lateral channels for guiding the light bullets into and out of the waveguide. An advantage of the present all-optical switching device lies in its practical use of light bullets, thus preventing the degeneration of the pulses due to dispersion and diffraction at the front and back of the pulses. Another advantage of the switching device is the relative insensitivity of the collision process to the time difference in which the counter-propagating pulses enter the waveguide, since, contrary to conventional co-propagating spatial solitons, the relative phase of the colliding pulses does not affect the interaction of these pulses. Yet another feature of the present all-optical switching device is the selection of the light pulse parameters which enables the generation of light bullets in nonlinear optical materials, including highly nonlinear optical glasses and semiconductor materials such as semiconductor crystals and/or multiple quantum well semiconductor materials.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4856860 (1989-08-01), Silberberg et al.
patent: 4881790 (1989-11-01), Mollenauer
patent: 5297224 (1994-03-01), Shaw
patent: 5377284 (1994-12-01), Bullow
patent: 5442720 (1995-08-01), Shaw
patent: 5651079 (1997-07-01), Goorjian
Friberg, S. R., Weiner, A. M., Silberberg, Y., Sfiz, B. G., and Smith, P. W., "Femtosecond switching in a dual-core-fiber nonlinear coupler", Optics Letters, vol. 13, No. 10, pp. 904-906, Oct., 1988.
Bell, T. E., Light that acts like `natural bits`, IEEE Spectrum, pp. 56-57, Aug. 1990.
Silberberg, Y., "Collapse of optical pulses", Optics Letters, vol. 22, pp. 1282-1284, Nov. 15, 1990.
Goorjian, P. M. and Silberberg, Y. "Numerical simulations of light bullets, using the full vector, time dependent Maxwell equations," Nonlinear Optics Topical Meeting, IEEE/Lasers and Electro-Optics Society and Optical Society of America, Waikoloa, Hawaii, Jul. 24-29, 1994, 3 pp.
Goorjian, P. M. and Silberberg, Y., "Numerical simulation of light bullets, using the full vector, time dependent Maxwell equations," Integrated Photonics Topical Meeting, cosponsored by the Optical Society of America and IEEE/Lasers and Electro-Optics Soc., Dana Point, CA, Feb. 23-25, 1995, 3 pp.
Aitchison, J. S., Weiner, A. M., Silberberg, Y., Oliver, M. K., Jackel, J. L., Leaird, D. E., Vogel, E. M., and Smith, P. W. E., "Observation of spatial optical solitons in a nonlinear planar waveguide," Optics Letters, vol. 15, No. 9, pp. 471-473, May 1, 1990.
Aitchison, J. S., Silberberg, Y., Weiner, A. M., Leaird, D. E., Oliver, M. K., Jackel, J. L., Vogel, E. M., and Smith, P. W. E., "Spatial optical solitons in planar glass waveguides," Journal Optical Society of America B, vol. 8, No. 6, pp. 1290-1297, Jun. 1991.
Borrelli, N. F., Aitken, B. G., and Newhouse, M. A., "Resonant and non-resonant effects in photonic glasses," Journal of Non-Crystalline
Saleh, B. E. A., and Teich, M. C.: Fundamentals of Photonics, John Wiley, 1991, pp. 175, 550, 575.
Pankove, J. I.: Optical Processes in Semiconductors, Prentice-Hall, Inc., N. J., (1971), p. 98.
Grey, D. E.: American Institute of Physics Handbook, 3rd Ed., McGraw-Hill, New York (1972), pp. 6-60.
Driscoll, W. G., and Vaughan, W.: Handbook of Optics, sponsored by the Optical Society of America, McGraw-Hill, New York (1978), pp. 7-26 through 7-30, 7-32, 7-49.
Weber, M. J.: CRC Handbook of Laser Science and Technology, vol. III, Optical Materials, Part 1: Nonlinear Optical Properties and Radiation Damage, CRC Press, Inc., (1986), pp. 102-106, 121, 202, 203, 273-275.
Sheik-Bahae, M., Hutchings, D. C., Hagen, D. J., and Van Stryland, E., W.: "Dispersion of Bound Electronic Nonlinear Refraction in Solids," IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics, vol. 27, No. 6, Jun. 1991, pp.1296-1309.
Bass, M., Van Stryland, E. W., Williams, D. R., and Wolfe, W. L.: Handbook of Optics, vol. II, Devices, Measurements, and Properties, 2nd Ed., sponsored by the Optical Society of America, McGraw-Hill, New York (1995), pp. 33.61-33.68.
Sirtori, C., Capasso, F., and Cho, A. Y.: "New Class of Coupled-Quantum-Well Semiconductors with Large Electric Field-Tunable Nonlinear Susceptibilities in the Infrared," in Physical Concepts and Materials for Novel Optoelectronic Device Applications II, F. Beltram and E. Gornik, Eds., Proc. SPIE 1985, pp. 158-169, (1993), (May).
Sirtori, C., Capasso, F., Sivco, D. L., and Cho, A. Y.: "Giant, Triply Resonant, Third-Order Nonlinear Susceptibility in Coupled Quantum Wells," Physical Review Letters, vol. 68, No. 7, Feb. 17, 1992, pp. 1010-1013.
Grave, I., Segev, M., and Yariv, A.: "Observation of Phase Conjugation at 10.6 Microns Via Intersubband Third-Order Nonlinearities in a GaAs/AlGaAs Multi-Quantum-Well Structure," Appl. Phys. Lett., vol. 60, No. 22, Jun. 1, 1992, pp. 2717-2719.
Han, K. Y., Chen, C. W., Quigley, J. H., Hafich, M., Robinson, G. Y., Chang, R., and Lile, D. L.: "InP/InGaAs Based Charge-Coupled Devices for MQW Spatial Light Modulator Applications," First International Conference on Indium Phosphide and Related Materials for Advanced Electronic and Optical Devices, R. Singh, L. J. Messick, Eds., Proc. SPIE 1144, pp. 398-413, at 398, 399 (1989), (Mar.).
Madelung, Otfried, (Editor): Semiconductors-Basic Data, 2nd revised Edition, Springer, 1996, pp. 86, 101, 122.
PCT International Search Report, PCT Application Serial No. PCT/US96/13473,. (Jan. 1997).
Lee John D.
Lupuloff Harry
Mannix John G.
The United States of America as Represented by the Administrator
Warsh Kenneth L.
LandOfFree
Photonic switching devices using light bullets does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Photonic switching devices using light bullets, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Photonic switching devices using light bullets will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-1181012