High index-contrast photonic devices and applications thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10324031-B2
Application number	US-201615560434-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 22, 2016
Priority date	Mar 23, 2015
Publication date	Jun 18, 2019
Grant date	Jun 18, 2019

Abstract

A photonic processing module ( 100 ) comprises a high index-contrast waveguide device comprising a substrate ( 102 ), a first layer ( 104 ) disposed on the substrate having a first refractive index, and a relatively thin second layer ( 106 ) disposed on the first layer. The second layer has a second refractive index providing a high index-contrast with the first layer, and the device includes at least one thin-ridge waveguide element ( 108 ) formed in the second layer which supports a guided mode in a longitudinal direction. An optical input port ( 110 ) is configured to direct an input beam into a slab mode of the second layer, the beam being directed to propagate at a predetermined angle θ to the longitudinal direction of the thin-ridge waveguide element. The angle θ is associated with a resonant coupling between the slab mode of the second layer and the guided mode of the thin-ridge waveguide element. An output beam is thus generated when the input beam includes one or more optical components corresponding with the resonant coupling. An optical output port ( 112 ) is configured to receive the output beam.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A photonic processing apparatus comprising:
a high index-contrast waveguide device comprising a substrate, a first layer disposed on the substrate having a first refractive index, and a relatively thin second layer disposed on the first layer which has a second refractive index providing a high index-contrast with the first layer, the device including at least one thin-ridge waveguide element formed in the second layer which supports a guided mode in a longitudinal direction;
an optical input port configured to direct an input beam into a slab mode of the second layer, the beam being directed to propagate at a predetermined angle θ to the longitudinal direction of the thin-ridge waveguide element, wherein the predetermined angle θ is associated with a resonant coupling between the slab mode of the second layer and the guided mode of the thin-ridge waveguide element, whereby an output beam is generated when the input beam comprises one or more optical components corresponding with the resonant coupling; and
a first optical output port configured to receive the output beam.

2. The photonic processing apparatus of claim 1 , which is a silicon-based photonic processing module wherein:
the first layer comprises an insulating layer; and
the second layer comprises a silicon layer (SOI layer).

3. The photonic processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the guided mode of the thin-ridge waveguide element is a transverse magnetic (TM) mode and the slab mode is a transverse electric (TE) mode.

4. The photonic processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the output beam is a reflected beam, and the angle of reflection relative to the longitudinal direction of the thin-ridge waveguide element is equal to the predetermined angle θ.

5. The photonic processing apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the predetermined angle θ is defined by:

cos
⁢

⁢
θ

=

N
eff
TM

N
slab
TE

wherein N eff TM is the effective index of the guided TM mode, and N slab TE is the effective index of the TE slab mode.

6. The photonic processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the waveguide device includes a plurality of parallel, coupled, thin-ridge waveguide elements.

7. The photonic processing apparatus of claim 6 , wherein a number, and associated dimensions, of the parallel, coupled, thin-ridge waveguide elements are selected to achieve a desired characteristic spectral response of the high index-contrast waveguide device.

8. The photonic processing apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the waveguide device further comprises a plurality of dielectric loading elements disposed adjacent to, and spaced apart from, the waveguide elements, and wherein a number, and associated dimensions, of the parallel, coupled, thin-ridge waveguide elements, and a number, associated dimensions, and spacings of the dielectric loading elements from the waveguide elements, are selected to achieve a desired characteristic spectral response of the high index-contrast waveguide device.

9. The photonic processing apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the characteristic spectral response approximates a Butterworth filter, a Chebyshev filter, or an elliptic filter.

10. The photonic processing apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the characteristic spectral response approximates a Butterworth filter, a Chebyshev filter, or an elliptic filter.

11. The photonic processing apparatus of claim 4 , which further comprises a second optical output port configured to receive a transmitted beam which comprises one or more components not corresponding with the resonant coupling.

12. The photonic processing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the high index-contrast waveguide device further comprises refractive index modulating means adapted to enable a refractive index of at least a portion of the second layer to be perturbed.

13. The photonic processing apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the refractive index modulating means is a heating element.

14. The photonic processing apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the refractive index modulating means is a fluid.

15. The photonic processing apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the second layer comprises a semiconductor material, and the refractive index modulating means is an electro-optic modulator configured to modify a free carrier concentration in the thin-ridge waveguide element in response to an electrical input signal.

16. The photonic processing apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the electro-optic modulator comprises a PIN diode, wherein the thin-ridge waveguide element is formed within the intrinsic (I) region of the diode.

17. The photonic processing apparatus of claim 1 wherein the angle at which the optical input port is configured to direct the input beam is adaptable over a range, whereby a characteristic wavelength of the resonant coupling is tunable.

18. A wavelength-selective optical filter comprising the photonic processing apparatus according to claim 1 .

19. A wavelength-selective multiplexer/demultiplexer comprising one or more photonic processing apparatuses according to claim 11 .

20. A tunable optical filter comprising t photonic processing apparatus according to claim 12 .

21. A polarisation beam splitter comprising the photonic processing apparatus according to claim 1 .

22. A sensor comprising the photonic processing apparatus according to claim 1 .

23. A beam splitter comprising t photonic processing apparatus according to claim 11 .

24. An interferometer comprising the plurality of processing apparatus according to claim 1 .

25. A dispersion engineering device comprising h plurality of photonic processing apparatus according to claim 1 .

26. A method comprising:
directing an input beam into a slab mode of a photonic processing structure at a predetermined angle θ to a longitudinal direction of a thin-ridge waveguide element in the photonic processing structure, wherein the predetermined angle θ is associated with a resonant coupling between the slab mode and a guided mode of the thin-ridge waveguide element, wherein the photonic processing structure includes a substrate, a first layer disposed on the substrate having a first refractive index, and a relatively thin second layer that supports the slab mode disposed on the first layer with a second refractive index providing a high index contrast with the first layer; and
generating an output beam when the input beam comprises one or more optical components corresponding with the resonant coupling.

Assignees

• Melbourne Inst Tech

Inventors

• Mitchell Arnan
• Nguyen Thach G
• Yego Kiplimo
• Hope Anthony

Classifications

• G02F2203/05

  wavelength dependent · CPC title

• G02F2202/105

  single crystal Si · CPC title

• G02F2201/30

  grating · CPC title

• G02F2201/063

  ridge; rib; strip loaded · CPC title

• G02F1/3138

  the optical waveguides being made of semiconducting materials · CPC title