PHOTONIC INTEGRATION PLATFORM
First Claim
1. A SOI optical device, comprising:
- a semiconductor substrate;
an insulation layer disposed on the substrate;
a crystalline silicon layer disposed on the insulation layer and comprising a silicon waveguide; and
a plurality of prongs configured to at least one of receive and transmit optical energy via a coupling surface of the SOI optical device,wherein the plurality of prongs are positioned such that the optical energy transmitted by the plurality of prongs is transferred to the silicon waveguide,wherein a dimension of the silicon waveguides changes as the silicon waveguide extends away from the coupling surface.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A SOI device may include a waveguide adapter that couples light between an external light source—e.g., a fiber optic cable or laser—and a silicon waveguide on the silicon surface layer of the SOI device. In one embodiment, the waveguide adapter is embedded into the insulator layer. Doing so may enable the waveguide adapter to be formed before the surface layer components are added onto the SOI device. Accordingly, fabrication techniques that use high-temperatures may be used without harming other components in the SOI device—e.g., the waveguide adapter is formed before heat-sensitive components are added to the silicon surface layer.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A SOI optical device, comprising:
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a semiconductor substrate; an insulation layer disposed on the substrate; a crystalline silicon layer disposed on the insulation layer and comprising a silicon waveguide; and a plurality of prongs configured to at least one of receive and transmit optical energy via a coupling surface of the SOI optical device, wherein the plurality of prongs are positioned such that the optical energy transmitted by the plurality of prongs is transferred to the silicon waveguide, wherein a dimension of the silicon waveguides changes as the silicon waveguide extends away from the coupling surface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A semiconductor chip, comprising:
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a semiconductor substrate; an insulation layer disposed on the substrate; a crystalline silicon layer disposed on the insulation layer and comprising a silicon waveguide; and a plurality of prongs configured to at least one of receive and transmit optical energy via a coupling surface of the semiconductor chip, wherein the plurality of prongs are positioned such that the optical energy transmitted by the plurality of prongs is transferred to the silicon waveguide, wherein a dimension of the silicon waveguides changes as the silicon waveguide extends away from the coupling surface. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. An optical device, comprising:
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a semiconductor substrate; an insulation layer disposed on the substrate; a crystalline silicon waveguide disposed on the insulation layer; and a plurality of prongs configured to at least one of receive and transmit optical energy via a coupling surface of the optical device, wherein the plurality of prongs are positioned such that the optical energy transmitted by the plurality of prongs is transferred to the silicon waveguide, wherein a dimension of the silicon waveguides changes as the silicon waveguide extends away from the coupling surface. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification