Photonic integrated circuit

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10120132-B2
Application number	US-201715473752-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 30, 2017
Priority date	Mar 30, 2017
Publication date	Nov 6, 2018
Grant date	Nov 6, 2018

Abstract

A photonic integrated circuit having discrete optical components arranged on a top side of a substrate includes a first and second optical sources respectively configured to emit light beams, a first interferometer having a first and second input ports respectively coupled to the first and second optical sources via first waveguides, a second interferometer configured to receive signals from the first interferometer via second waveguides and combine the signals to transmit a combined signal via a third waveguide, and a submount configured to contact a back side of the substrate, wherein the submount includes a first thermal conductor having a first thermal conductivity and a second conductor having a second thermal conductivity, wherein the first thermal conductivity is greater than the second thermal conductivity, and the first and second optical sources are more proximity to the first thermal conductor than the second thermal conductor.

First claim

We claim:

1. A photonic integrated circuit disposed on a substrate, comprising:
first and second light sources to transmit a first light beam and a second light beam via first and second waveguides;
an interferometer to combine the first and second light beams from the first and second waveguides and transmit a combined signal light beam from an output port of a combined waveguide, wherein the interferometer includes a first coupler, a second coupler and first and second signal waveguides connecting between the first and second couplers;
a contact layer formed on a backside of the substrate; and
a submount to contact the contact layer, wherein the submount includes a first thermal conductor corresponding to regions of the first and second light sources, a second thermal conductor corresponding to a region of the interferometer and a third thermal conductor corresponding to a part of the combined waveguide, wherein a temperature gradient of the substrate is defined by a heat flow from a region of the first and second light sources to the third thermal conductor, wherein the first signal waveguide and the second signal waveguide are substantially aligned along the temperature gradient.

2. The photonic integrated circuit of claim 1 , further comprising:
a heatsink including a thermoelectric cooling device to contact the submount.

3. The photonic integrated circuit of claim 1 , wherein the contact layer is formed to partly cover the backside of the substrate and arranged to substantially overlap the regions of the first and second light sources.

4. The photonic integrated circuit of claim 1 , wherein the first and second couplers are disposed at substantially equal distances from the first and second light sources and the first and second waveguides have different lengths, wherein intermediate curved regions of the first and second signal waveguides are separated by at least more than 500 μm.

5. The photonic integrated circuit of claim 1 , wherein the submount has a groove region.

6. The photonic integrated circuit of claim 1 , wherein the first thermal conductor has a first thermal conductivity, the second thermal conductor has a second thermal conductivity, and the third thermal conductor has a third thermal conductivity, wherein each of the first and third thermal conductivities is greater than the second thermal conductivity.

7. The photonic integrated circuit of claim 6 , wherein the third thermal conductivity is at least one order of magnitude greater than the second thermal conductivity.

8. The photonic integrated circuit of claim 1 , wherein a material of the third thermal conductor is the same as a material of the first thermal conductor.

9. The photonic integrated circuit of claim 1 , wherein materials of the first and third thermal conductors are gold.

10. The photonic integrated circuit of claim 1 , wherein the second thermal conductor is an air.

11. The photonic integrated circuit of claim 1 , wherein the first thermal conductor substantially overlaps the regions of the first and second light sources.

12. The photonic integrated circuit of claim 1 , wherein an area of the first thermal conductor is greater than an area of the third thermal conductor.

13. The photonic integrated circuit of claim 1 , wherein the interferometer is a Mach-Zehnder interferometer.

14. The photonic integrated circuit of claim 1 , wherein the first and second light sources are laser diodes.

15. The photonic integrated circuit of claim 1 , wherein the first thermal conductor is gold or gold composite alloy and the second thermal conductor is indium phosphide.

16. The photonic integrated circuit of claim 1 , wherein a material of the substrate is different from those of the first, second light sources and interferometer.

17. The photonic integrated circuit of claim 1 , wherein the first and second light sources and the interferometer are formed on an indium phosphide substrate.

Assignees

• Mitsubishi Electric Res Laboratories Inc
• Mitsubishi Electric Corp

Inventors

• Kojima Keisuke
• Nishikawa Satoshi
• Koike-Akino Toshiaki
• Wang Bingnan
• Yagyu Eiji

Classifications

• G02B2006/12159

  Interferometer · CPC title

• G02B6/12026

  characterised by means for reducing the temperature dependence · CPC title

• G02B6/12 Primary

  of the integrated circuit kind (electric integrated circuits H10B, H10D84/00 - H10D89/00, H10F19/00, H10F39/00, H10H29/00, H10K19/00, H10K39/00, H10K59/00, H10N19/00, H10N39/00, H10N59/00, H10N69/00, H10N79/00, H10N89/00) · CPC title

• G02B6/2935

  Mach-Zehnder configuration, i.e. comprising separate splitting and combining means · CPC title

• G02B6/12004

  Combinations of two or more optical elements · CPC title