Fabry-Perot cavity phase modulator including a tunable core between reflective layers, an optical modulating device including the same, and a LIDAR apparatus including the optical modulating device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11513219-B2
Application number	US-202016884850-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 27, 2020
Priority date	Jan 10, 2017
Publication date	Nov 29, 2022
Grant date	Nov 29, 2022

Abstract

Provided are an optical modulating device and a system including the optical modulating device. The optical modulating device includes a substrate, and a phase modulator formed on the substrate and including a Fabry-Perot cavity. The Fabry-Perot cavity of the phase modulator includes a first reflective layer, a second reflective layer, and a tunable core formed between the first reflective layer and the second reflective layer, wherein the tunable core is formed of a semiconductor material and is configured to modulate a phase of light corresponding to modulation of a refractive index of the tunable core according to electrical control.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An optical modulating device comprising:
a substrate; and
a phase modulator formed on the substrate and comprising a Fabry-Perot cavity,
wherein the Fabry-Perot cavity of the phase modulator comprises:
a first reflective layer;
a second reflective layer; and
a tunable core formed between the first reflective layer and the second reflective layer;

wherein light is incident on the second reflective layer and the incident light is resonated in the Fabry-Perot cavity,
wherein the tunable core is formed of a semiconductor material and is configured to modulate a phase of the resonated light based on modulation of a refractive index of the tunable core by electrical control of the tunable core,
wherein the optical modulating device further comprises a common electrode between the first reflective layer and the tunable core, and a first top electrode between the tunable core and the second reflective layer,
wherein a reflectivity of the second reflective layer is less than a reflectively of the first reflective layer, and a number of stacks of the second reflective layer is less than a number of stacks of the first reflective layer,
wherein a phase-modulated reflected light in the Fabry-Perot cavity is output from the second reflective layer,
wherein the plurality of phase modulators respectively extend in a first direction along a width of the substrate and are arranged in a plurality of rows spaced apart from each other in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, the plurality of modulators respectively extending in the first direction longer than the second direction and being configured to steer incident light in only one direction,
wherein the substrate, the first reflective layer, the common electrode, the tunable core, and the second reflective layer are provided in that order, and
the Fabry-Perot cavity comprises a protrusion protruding from the common electrode, the protrusion comprising the tunable core and the second reflective layer, and
wherein the protrusion further comprises:
an additional tunable core formed on the second reflective layer; and
a third reflective layer formed on the additional tunable core;

wherein the Fabry-Perot cavity has a dual cavity structure, and
wherein a reflectivity of the third reflective layer is less than the first reflective layer, and a number of stacks of the third reflective layer is less than a number of stacks of the first reflective layer.

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
• California Inst Of Techn

Inventors

• Lee Duhyun
• Alam Muhammad
• Atwater Harry
• PALA Ragip
• Na Byunghoon
• Han Seunghoon

Classifications

• G02F1/01716 Primary

  Optically controlled superlattice or quantum well devices · CPC title

• G01S7/4817

  relating to scanning · CPC title

• G02F1/213

  Fabry-Perot type · CPC title

• G02F1/21

  by interference · CPC title

• G01S17/02 Primary

  Systems using the reflection of electromagnetic waves other than radio waves (G01S17/66 takes precedence) · CPC title