Electric field induced quantum well waveguides
First Claim
1. A semiconductor optical element for propagating light from an optical beam comprising:
- a first cladding region;
a second cladding region;
a core for receiving the optical beam interposed between the first and second cladding regions and comprising at least one quantum well structure;
each of the first and second cladding regions having dimensions that allows the light of the optical beam to spread laterally with respect to a primary direction of the beam as the light propagates through the core; and
means for applying an electric field in a selected area of the core for laterally confining the light of the optical beam to the selected area.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The invention is directed to laterally confined optical waveguide devices in semiconductors using quantum-well structures. An optical waveguide having a core comprising at least one quantum-well structure is interposed between first and second cladding regions such that an optical beam inserted into the core region spreads laterally with respect to a primary direction of the beam. Contacts are fabricated on the surface of the top cladding region and serve as means for applying an electric field to the core of the waveguide. The electric field induces a change in the refractive index of the portion of the quantum-well structure within the field. The change in the refractive index functions to laterally confine the propagation of the optical beam to the region of the core within the electric field, while maintaining a low loss transmission. Controlling the lateral propagation of an optical beam by way of an applied electric field allows a family of low-loss optical devices such as modulators and switches to be realized. Such devices can be fabricated without regard to their orientation in the crystalline structure of the semiconductor material.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A semiconductor optical element for propagating light from an optical beam comprising:
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a first cladding region; a second cladding region; a core for receiving the optical beam interposed between the first and second cladding regions and comprising at least one quantum well structure; each of the first and second cladding regions having dimensions that allows the light of the optical beam to spread laterally with respect to a primary direction of the beam as the light propagates through the core; and means for applying an electric field in a selected area of the core for laterally confining the light of the optical beam to the selected area. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. In a semiconductor optical element having a core forming a plane extending along a first and second axes of a Cartesian coordinate system and positioned between two cladding regions, where the core contains at least one quantum well and has an input and output, a method comprising the steps of:
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inserting light of an optical beam into the input of the core along the first axis; allowing the light to laterally propagate substantially freely in the second axis of the core while confining lateral propagation of the light in the third axis by way of an index of refraction differential between the core and the first and second cladding regions; and applying an electric field to a selected area of the core in order to induce a quantum confined Stark Effect shift in an absorption spectrum for the selected area of the core that sufficiently changes the refractive index of the selected area relative to the remaining area of the core so as to confine lateral propagation of the light in the second axis and direct the light to the output. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification