Polymer modulator and laser integrated on a common platform and method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10527786-B2
Application number	US-201715692080-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 31, 2017
Priority date	Aug 31, 2017
Publication date	Jan 7, 2020
Grant date	Jan 7, 2020

Abstract

A monolithic photonic integrated circuit includes a platform, a monolithic laser formed in/on the platform, and an electro-optic polymer modulator monolithically built onto the platform and optically coupled to the monolithic laser. The polymer modulator is optically coupled to the monolithic laser by waveguides including electro-optic polymer waveguides. The electro-optic polymer modulator and the electro-optic polymer waveguides including an electro-optic polymer core and top and bottom electro-optic polymer cladding layers. The electro-optic polymer core having an electro-optic coefficient (r 33 ) greater than 250 pm/v, and a Tg 150° C. to 200° C., and the top and bottom electro-optic polymer cladding layers having a Tg approximately the same as the Tg of the electro-optic polymer core.

First claim

Having fully described the invention in such clear and concise terms as to enable those skilled in the art to understand and practice the same, the invention claimed is:

1. A monolithic photonic integrated circuit comprising:
a platform formed of InP;
a monolithic InP laser formed in/on the platform; and
an electro-optic polymer modulator monolithically built onto the platform and optically coupled to the monolithic laser, the polymer modulator being optically coupled to the monolithic laser by waveguides including multilayer polymer waveguides with an electro-optic (EO) polymer core and top and bottom EO polymer cladding layers and the EO polymer core has an EO coefficient (r 33 ) greater than 250 pm/V, a Tg 150° C. to 200° C. and a resistivity approximately 10 8 Ohm-cm, and the top and bottom EO polymer cladding layers have a Tg approximately the same as the Tg of the EO polymer core, where Tg is the glass transition temperature, and a resistivity, at room temperature, greater than approximately 10 8 Ohm-cm, and a resistivity much less than the resistivity of the EO polymer core at poling temperature, and the top and bottom EO polymer cladding layers have levels of conductivity equal to or higher than the EO polymer core.

2. The monolithic photonic integrated circuit as claimed in claim 1 wherein the monolithic laser includes one of a distributed feedback laser, a Fabry-Perot laser, a distributed Bragg reflector laser, or a tunable laser.

3. The monolithic photonic integrated circuit as claimed in claim 1 wherein the polymer modulator includes a Mach-Zehnder interferometer type modulator.

4. The monolithic photonic integrated circuit as claimed in claim 1 wherein the polymer modulator is optically coupled to the monolithic laser by one of free space, polymer waveguides, or semiconductor material waveguides.

5. The monolithic photonic integrated circuit as claimed in claim 4 wherein the polymer modulator is optically coupled to the monolithic laser by waveguides including InP waveguides.

6. The monolithic photonic integrated circuit as claimed in claim 1 wherein the polymer modulator is optically coupled to the monolithic laser by waveguides including one of 3-layer, 4-layer and 5-layer polymer waveguides.

7. The monolithic photonic integrated circuit as claimed in claim 1 wherein the polymer modulator is a Mach-Zehnder interferometer modulator optically coupled to the monolithic laser by waveguides including one of Y-splitters/combiners and MMI splitters/combiners.

8. The monolithic photonic integrated circuit as claimed in claim 1 wherein the polymer modulator is a direct drive electro-optic polymer modulator.

9. The monolithic photonic integrated circuit as claimed in claim 1 wherein the multilayer polymer waveguides have a propagation loss less than 2.2 dB/cm with device insertion loss less than 6 dB.

10. The monolithic photonic integrated circuit as claimed in claim 1 wherein the polymer modulator and multilayer polymer waveguides include one of a ridge waveguide and an inverted ridge waveguide.

11. A monolithic photonic integrated circuit comprising:
a platform;
a monolithic laser formed in/on the platform;
an electro-optic polymer modulator monolithically built onto the platform and optically coupled to the monolithic laser by waveguides including electro-optic polymer waveguides, the electro-optic polymer modulator and the electro-optic polymer waveguides including an electro-optic polymer core and top and bottom electro-optic polymer cladding layers, the electro-optic polymer core having an electro-optic coefficient (r 33 ) greater than 250 pm/V, and a Tg 150° C. to 200° C., and the top and bottom electro-optic polymer cladding layers having a Tg approximately the same as the Tg of the electro-optic polymer core, where Tg is the glass transition temperature.

12. The monolithic photonic integrated circuit as claimed in claim 11 wherein the platform includes InP.

13. The monolithic photonic integrated circuit as claimed in claim 12 wherein the electro-optic polymer modulator and the electro-optic polymer waveguides include InP.

14. The monolithic photonic integrated circuit as claimed in claim 11 wherein the electro-optic polymer modulator and the electro-optic polymer waveguides include metallization on a surface of the platform underlying the bottom electro-optic polymer cladding layers.

15. The monolithic photonic integrated circuit as claimed in claim 14 wherein the metallization on the surface of the platform underlying the bottom electro-optic polymer cladding layers includes one of Au, Ti/Au, Cr/Au, or Ti/Au/Ti.

16. The monolithic photonic integrated circuit as claimed in claim 14 further including a top microstrip conductor overlying at least a portion of the electro-optic polymer modulator.

17. The monolithic photonic integrated circuit as claimed in claim 14 further including an electron blocking layer sandwiched between the top electro-optic polymer cladding layer and the top microstrip conductor overlying at least the portion of the electro-optic polymer modulator.

18. The monolithic photonic integrated circuit as claimed in claim 11 wherein the electro-optic polymer waveguides have a propagation loss less than 2.2 dB/cm with device insertion loss less than 6 dB.

19. The monolithic photonic integrated circuit as claimed in claim 11 wherein the polymer modulator and electro-optic polymer waveguides include one of a ridge waveguide and an inverted ridge waveguide.

20. The monolithic photonic integrated circuit as claimed in claim 11 wherein the polymer modulator is a Mach-Zehnder interferometer modulator optically coupled to the monolithic laser by waveguides including one of splitters/combiners/MMI.

21. The monolithic photonic integrated circuit as claimed in claim 11 wherein the electro-optic polymer modulator is a direct drive electro-optic polymer modulator with a drive voltage of approximately 0.5V.

22. A method of fabricating a monolithic photonic integrated circuit comprising the steps of:
providing a platform;
integrating a monolithic laser in/on the platform, the monolithic laser including one of a distributed feedback laser, a Fabry-Perot laser, a distributed Bragg reflector laser, or a tunable laser; and
monolithically forming an electro-optic polymer modulator on the platform and optically coupling the electro-optic polymer modulator to the monolithic laser by waveguides including electro-optic polymer waveguides, forming the electro-optic polymer modulator and the electro-optic polymer waveguides with an electro-optic polymer core and top and bottom electro-optic polymer cladding layers, and forming the electro-optic polymer core from materials having an electro-optic coefficient (r 33 ) greater than 250 pm/v, and a Tg 150° C. to >200° C., and forming the top and bottom electro-optic polymer cladding layers from materials having a Tg approximately the same as the Tg of the electro-optic polymer core.

23. The method of fabricating a monolithic photonic integrated circuit as claimed in claim 22 wherein the step of monolithically forming the electro-optic polymer modulator on the platform and optically coupling the electro-optic polymer modulator to the monolithic laser by waveguides includes etching a trench in the platform and depositing sequential layers of electro-optic material defining the bottom electro-optic polymer cladding layer, the electro-optic polymer core and the top electro-optic polymer cladding l

Assignees

• Leonberger Frederick J
• Lebby Michael
• Becker Richard
• Lightwave Logic Inc

Inventors

• Leonberger Frederick J
• Lebby Michael
• Becker Richard

Classifications

• H01S5/1014

  Tapered waveguide, e.g. spotsize converter (H01S5/1064 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G02B2006/12061

  Silicon · CPC title

• G02F1/065

  in an optical waveguide structure · CPC title

• H01S5/0268

  Integrated waveguide grating router, e.g. emission of a multi-wavelength laser array is combined by a "dragon router" · CPC title

• G02B6/29352

  in a light guide · CPC title