Optical modulator

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9274399-B2
Application number	US-201414281204-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 19, 2014
Priority date	Nov 30, 2010
Publication date	Mar 1, 2016
Grant date	Mar 1, 2016

Abstract

A Mach-Zehnder optical modulator includes a join-and-branch portion; two light wave guides connected with the join-and-branch portion; an output light waveguide connected with the join-and-branch portion; arm electrodes respectively provided on the two light waveguides; and a ground electrode that is provided at an edge of at least one of the arm electrodes along the light waveguide, is spaced from the arm electrode and is grounded.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A Mach-Zehnder optical modulator comprising:
a join-and-branch portion;
two light waveguides that have a structure in which a core is sandwiched between a first conductivity type semiconductor and a second conductivity type semiconductor and are connected with the join-and-branch portion;
an output light waveguide connected with the join-and-branch portion;
arm electrodes respectively provided on the second conductivity type semiconductor of the two light waveguides;
a ground electrode that is provided on the first conductivity type semiconductor of the two light waveguides; and
isolation electrodes that are respectively provided at an edge of the arm electrodes along the light waveguide, are spaced from the arm electrodes and are grounded.

2. The Mach-Zehnder optical modulator according to claim 1 , wherein the arm electrodes is a phase adjustment electrode or a modulation electrode.

3. The Mach-Zehnder optical modulator according to claim 1 , wherein:
two arm electrodes are provided along one of the light waveguides; and
the isolation electrodes are provided between the two arm electrodes and are spaced from the two arm electrodes.

4. The Mach-Zehnder optical modulator according to claim 1 , wherein a distance between the isolation electrodes and the arm electrodes is 50 μm to 150 μm.

Assignees

• Sumitomo Electric Industries

Inventors

• Yamaji Kazuhiro
• Uesaka Katsumi

Classifications

• G02F1/2257

  the optical waveguides being made of semiconducting material · CPC title

• H04B10/54

  Intensity modulation · CPC title

• H04B10/5057

  using a feedback signal generated by analysing the optical output · CPC title

• G02F1/0123

  Circuits for the control or stabilisation of the bias voltage, e.g. automatic bias control [ABC] feedback loops · CPC title

• H04B10/5053

  using a parallel, i.e. shunt, combination of modulators · CPC title