Wafer-scale fabrication of vertical optical couplers

    公开(公告)号:US10222552B2

    公开(公告)日:2019-03-05

    申请号:US14993340

    申请日:2016-01-12

    IPC分类号: G02B6/122 G02B6/293 G02B6/12

    摘要: An integrated circuit is described. This integrated circuit includes an optical waveguide defined in a semiconductor layer, and a dielectric optical waveguide disposed on the semiconductor layer and that overlaps a region of the optical waveguide. Moreover, the dielectric optical waveguide includes an optical device (such as a mirror) on a facet separating a first portion of the dielectric optical waveguide and a second portion of the dielectric optical waveguide. The facet may be at an angle relative to a plane of the dielectric optical waveguide and may include a metal layer. During operation, an optical signal conveyed by the optical waveguide is evanescent coupled to the dielectric optical waveguide. Then, the optical signal may be reflected by the optical device. For example, the angle of the facet may be 45°, so that the optical signal is reflected normal to the plane of the dielectric optical waveguide.

    OPTICALLY SWITCHED NETWORK TOPOLOGY
    2.
    发明申请

    公开(公告)号:US20180270551A1

    公开(公告)日:2018-09-20

    申请号:US15460083

    申请日:2017-03-15

    IPC分类号: H04Q11/00 H04B10/27 H04J14/02

    摘要: The disclosed embodiments provide an optically switched network system. This system includes a passive optical switch with N inputs and N outputs, which can communicate different wavelengths from each of the N inputs to each of the N outputs. It also includes N end-nodes, and N pairs of optical fibers, wherein each pair connects one of the N end-nodes to one of the N inputs and one of the N outputs. The optically switched network is organized into a virtual data plane and a virtual control plane, which both communicate through the same underlying physical network. The virtual data plane provides any-to-all parallel connectivity for data transmissions among the N end-nodes. The virtual control plane is organized as a ring that serially connects the N end-nodes, wherein the ring communicates arbitration information among distributed-arbitration logic at each of the N end-nodes.

    Wavelength-locking a ring-resonator modulator

    公开(公告)号:US09983420B2

    公开(公告)日:2018-05-29

    申请号:US14516301

    申请日:2014-10-16

    IPC分类号: G02F1/025 G02F1/01

    摘要: In the optical device, a ring-resonator modulator, having an adjustable resonance (center) wavelength, optically couples an optical signal that includes the carrier wavelength from an input optical waveguide to an output optical waveguide. A monitoring mechanism in the optical device, which is optically coupled to the output optical waveguide, monitors a performance metric of an output optical signal from the output waveguide. For example, the monitoring mechanism may monitor: an average optical power associated with the output optical signal, and/or an amplitude of the output optical signal. Moreover, control logic in the optical device adjusts the resonance wavelength based on the monitored performance metric so that the performance metric is optimized.

    Slow-light silicon optical modulator

    公开(公告)号:US09880405B2

    公开(公告)日:2018-01-30

    申请号:US15609554

    申请日:2017-05-31

    摘要: An optical modulator is described. This optical modulator may be implemented using silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology. In particular, a semiconductor layer in an SOI platform may include a photonic crystal having a group velocity of light that is less than that of the semiconductor layer. Moreover, an optical modulator (such as a Mach-Zehnder interferometer) may be implemented in the photonic crystal with a vertical junction in the semiconductor layer. During operation of the optical modulator, an input optical signal may be split into two different optical signals that feed two optical waveguides, and then subsequently combined into an output optical signal. Furthermore, during operation, time-varying bias voltages may be applied across the vertical junction in the optical modulator using contacts defined along a lateral direction of the optical modulator.

    Extracting an embedded DC signal to provide a reference voltage for an optical receiver

    公开(公告)号:US09819421B1

    公开(公告)日:2017-11-14

    申请号:US15204372

    申请日:2016-07-07

    IPC分类号: H04B10/69

    CPC分类号: H04B10/693

    摘要: An optical receiver includes: an active transimpedance amplifier (TIA) that converts a photocurrent from a photosensor into an active voltage signal; a high-speed amplifier that amplifies the active voltage signal to produce an amplified voltage signal that comprises an output for the optical receiver; and a reference-voltage-generation circuit that generates a reference voltage for the high-speed amplifier. This reference-voltage-generation circuit includes a dummy TIA that is identical to the active TIA, but does not receive a live input signal, and produces a dummy voltage signal. It also includes a low-speed amplifier which includes: an active input that receives the active voltage signal from the active TIA output; a dummy input that receives the dummy voltage signal from the dummy TIA output; and an output that controls directly or indirectly the reference voltage for the high-speed amplifier. In the direct control case, the output of low-speed amplifier includes a feedback connection that feeds back into the dummy input. In the indirect control case, the output of low-speed amplifier adjusts the reference voltage for the high-speed amplifier through dummy TIA internal biasing.

    SLOW-LIGHT SILICON OPTICAL MODULATOR
    10.
    发明申请

    公开(公告)号:US20170261772A1

    公开(公告)日:2017-09-14

    申请号:US15609554

    申请日:2017-05-31

    IPC分类号: G02F1/025 G02F1/225

    摘要: An optical modulator is described. This optical modulator may be implemented using silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology. In particular, a semiconductor layer in an SOI platform may include a photonic crystal having a group velocity of light that is less than that of the semiconductor layer. Moreover, an optical modulator (such as a Mach-Zehnder interferometer) may be implemented in the photonic crystal with a vertical junction in the semiconductor layer. During operation of the optical modulator, an input optical signal may be split into two different optical signals that feed two optical waveguides, and then subsequently combined into an output optical signal. Furthermore, during operation, time-varying bias voltages may be applied across the vertical junction in the optical modulator using contacts defined along a lateral direction of the optical modulator.