Electro-optic modulator
First Claim
1. An electro-optic modulator comprising:
- a substrate made of a material which has an electro-optic effect;
an optical waveguide which comprises at least a pair of optical paths and is formed in the substrate;
a buffer layer which is transparent and is formed on the substrate and on the optical waveguide, wherein the buffer layer is a mutual diffusion layer made from laminated films which comprise at least one transparent insulator film and at least one transparent conductor film; and
electrodes which are formed on the buffer layer and are arranged to cause refractive index changes in the pair of optical paths in response to electrical fields surrounding the electro-optic modulator.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An electro-optic modulator (300) comprises a substrate (310) made of a material which has an electro-optic effect and a pyroelectric effect. In the substrate (310), an optical waveguide (320) is formed to have at least a pair of optical paths. On the substrate (310) and on the optical waveguide (320), a transparent buffer layer (330) is formed to cover the optical waveguide (320). On the buffer layer (330), first and second electrodes (341, 342) are formed so that the first and the second electrodes (341, 342) are arranged to cause refractive index changes in the pair of optical paths in response to electrical fields surrounding the electro-optic modulator (300). The buffer layer (330) is a mutual diffusion layer. The mutual diffusion layer is made from laminated films comprised of at least one transparent insulator film and at least one transparent conductor film but has no clear boundary between the transparent insulator film and the transparent conductor film.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. An electro-optic modulator comprising:
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a substrate made of a material which has an electro-optic effect;
an optical waveguide which comprises at least a pair of optical paths and is formed in the substrate;
a buffer layer which is transparent and is formed on the substrate and on the optical waveguide, wherein the buffer layer is a mutual diffusion layer made from laminated films which comprise at least one transparent insulator film and at least one transparent conductor film; and
electrodes which are formed on the buffer layer and are arranged to cause refractive index changes in the pair of optical paths in response to electrical fields surrounding the electro-optic modulator. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method of fabricating an electro-optic modulator, comprising steps of:
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forming an optical waveguide in a substrate, wherein the substrate is made of a material which has an electro-optic effect, and the optical waveguide comprises at least a pair of optical paths;
laminating at least one transparent insulator film and at least one transparent conductor film to form laminated films on the substrate and on the optical waveguide;
mutually diffusing the laminated films into each other to form a buffer layer on the substrate and on the optical waveguide, wherein the buffer layer is transparent; and
forming electrodes on the buffer layer, wherein the electrodes are arranged to cause refractive index changes in the pair of optical paths in response to electrical fields surrounding the electro-optic modulator. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification