Tunable waveguide devices

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10181698-B2
Application number	US-201815866138-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 9, 2018
Priority date	Jan 4, 2016
Publication date	Jan 15, 2019
Grant date	Jan 15, 2019

Abstract

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including a laser including a layer having first and second regions, the first region including a void; a mirror section provided on the layer, the mirror section including a waveguide core, at least part of the waveguide core is provided over at least a portion of the void; a first grating provided on the waveguide core; a first cladding layer provided between the layer and the waveguide core and supported by the second region of the layer; a second cladding layer provided on the waveguide core; and a heat source configured to change a temperature of at least one of the waveguide core and the grating, where an optical mode propagating in the waveguide core of the mirror section does not incur substantial loss due to interaction with portions of the mirror section above and below the waveguide core.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A semiconductor laser, comprising:
a substrate;
a layer formed on the substrate, the layer having first and second regions, the first region of the layer including one or more voids; and
a mirror section provided on the layer, the mirror section comprising:
a waveguide core, wherein at least part of the waveguide core is provided over a first void,
a grating,
a first cladding provided between the layer and the waveguide core, wherein at least a portion of the first cladding is provided over at least a portion of the second region of the layer, and
a second cladding provided on the waveguide core;

a contact layer provided on the second cladding, the layer including a doped semiconductor material; and
a first electrode and a second electrode, the first electrode being coupled to the contact layer, such that a current flows between the first and second electrodes and through at least a portion of the layer, wherein heat generated by the current adjusts a temperature of a portion of the waveguide core.

2. A semiconductor laser in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the first electrode is coupled to the contact layer at a plurality of locations along the contact layer.

3. A semiconductor laser in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the first electrode is coupled to the contact layer at a first plurality of locations along the contact layer, and the second electrode is coupled to the contact layer at a second plurality of locations along the contact layer.

4. The laser of claim 1 , wherein the grating includes a plurality of grating bursts, such that a first location in said one of the plurality of support legs has a minimum temperature relative to a temperature at remaining second locations in said one of the plurality of support legs, the first location being misaligned relative to a center of one of the plurality of grating bursts.

5. The laser of claim 1 , wherein a first spacing between first and second successive support legs of the plurality of support legs is different from a second spacing between third and fourth successive support legs of the plurality of support legs.

6. The laser of claim 1 ,
wherein the grating includes a plurality of grating bursts, the plurality of grating bursts extending over a portion of the mirror section, such that, in the portion of the mirror section, a support leg pitch between two successive support legs is different than a grating burst pitch between two successive grating bursts of the plurality of grating bursts.

7. The laser of claim 1 , wherein the mirror section has a substantially uniform thermal distribution along the mirror section such that a difference between a peak temperature of the mirror section and an average temperature of the first mirror section is less than 10° C.

8. The laser of claim 1 , wherein the first mirror section has a substantially uniform thermal distribution along the mirror section such that a difference between a peak temperature of the mirror section and an average temperature of the mirror section is less than 5° C.

9. The semiconductor laser of claim 1 , wherein an optical mode propagating in the mirror section incurs a loss that is less than 7 dB/cm.

10. The semiconductor laser of claim 1 , wherein an optical mode propagating in the mirror section incurs a loss that is less than 5 dB/cm.

11. The semiconductor laser of claim 1 , wherein an optical modal propagating in the mirror section incurs a loss that is less than 2.5 dB/cm.

12. The semiconductor laser of claim 1 ,
wherein at least one of one or more deleterious device layers does not extend into the mirror section.

13. The semiconductor laser of claim 12 , wherein a deleterious device layer of the one or more deleterious device layers includes a bandgap wavelength that is greater than an operating wavelength of the semiconductor laser.

14. A semiconductor laser, comprising:
a substrate;
a layer formed on the substrate, the layer having first and second regions, the first region of the layer including one or more voids; and
a mirror section provided on the layer, the mirror section comprising:
a waveguide core, wherein at least part of the waveguide core is provided over a first void,
a grating,
a first cladding provided between the layer and the waveguide core, wherein at least a portion of the first cladding is provided over at least a portion of the second region of the layer, and
a second cladding provided on the waveguide core; and

a first electrode and a second electrode, the first electrode being coupled to the first cladding, such that a current flows between the first and second electrodes and through at least a portion of the first cladding, such that heat generated by the current adjusts a temperature of a portion of the waveguide core.

15. The laser of claim 14 , wherein the grating includes a plurality of grating bursts, such that a first location in said one of the plurality of support legs has a minimum temperature relative to a temperature at remaining second locations in said one of the plurality of support legs, the first location being misaligned relative to a center of one of the plurality of grating bursts.

16. The laser of claim 14 , wherein a first spacing between first and second successive support legs of the plurality of support legs is different from a second spacing between third and fourth successive support legs of the plurality of support legs.

17. The laser of claim 14 ,
wherein the grating includes a plurality of grating bursts, the plurality of grating bursts extending over a portion of the mirror section, such that, in the portion of the mirror section, a support leg pitch between two successive support legs is different than a grating burst pitch between two successive grating bursts of the plurality of grating bursts.

18. The laser of claim 14 , wherein the mirror section has a substantially uniform thermal distribution along the mirror section such that a difference between a peak temperature of the mirror section and an average temperature of the first mirror section is less than 10° C.

19. The laser of claim 14 , wherein the first mirror section has a substantially uniform thermal distribution along the mirror section such that a difference between a peak temperature of the mirror section and an average temperature of the mirror section is less than 5° C.

20. The semiconductor laser of claim 14 , wherein an optical mode propagating in the mirror section incurs a loss that is less than 7 dB/cm.

21. The semiconductor laser of claim 14 , wherein an optical mode propagating in the mirror section incurs a loss that is less than 5 dB/cm.

22. The semiconductor laser of claim 14 , wherein an optical modal propagating in the mirror section incurs a loss that is less than 2.5 dB/cm.

23. The semiconductor laser of claim 14 ,
wherein at least one of one or more deleterious device layers does not extend into the mirror section.

24. The semiconductor laser of claim 23 , wherein a deleterious device layer of the one or more deleterious device layers includes a bandgap wavelength that is greater than an operating wavelength of the semiconductor laser.

Assignees

• Infinera Corp

Inventors

• Evans Peter W
• Lu Mingzhi
• Kish Jr Fred A
• Lal Vikrant
• Corzine Scott
• Osenbach John W
• Yan Jin

Classifications

• H01S5/0425

  Electrodes, e.g. characterised by the structure · CPC title

• G02F2201/58

  Arrangements comprising a monitoring photodetector · CPC title

• G02F1/2257

  the optical waveguides being made of semiconducting material · CPC title

• G02F1/2255

  controlled by a high-frequency electromagnetic component in an electric waveguide structure · CPC title

• G02B2006/12121

  Laser · CPC title