MEMS-based optical bench

• US 6,434,291 B1
• Filed: 08/08/2000
• Issued: 08/13/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Auxora
• Original Assignee: Confluent Photonics Corp.
• Inventors: Davis, Steven J., Frish, Michael B., Kessler, William J., Keating, Philip
• Primary Examiner(s): Palmer, Phan T. H.
• Application Number:
  US09/633,934
• Time in Patent Office: 735 Days
• Field of Search: 385/24, 385/31, 385/33, 385/37, 385/27, 385/15, 385/28, 385/16, 385/18, 359/124, 359/128, 359/125, 359/133, 359/131
• US Class Current: 385/24
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2006/12107 Grating
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2006/12109 Filter
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2006/12114 Prism
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2006/12164 Multiplexing; Demultiplexing
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/12004 Combinations of two or more optical elements
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/12007 forming wavelength selective elements, e.g. multiplexer, demultiplexer
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/29308 Diffractive element having focusing properties, e.g. curved gratings Rowland circle spectrometers G01J3/20
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/2931 Diffractive element operating in reflection
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/29311 Diffractive element operating in transmission
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/29358 Multiple beam interferometer external to a light guide, e.g. Fabry-Pérot, etalon, VIPA plate, OTDL plate, continuous interferometer, parallel plate resonator G02B6/29347, G02B6/29349, G02B6/2935, G02B6/29361 take precedence; resonator evanescently coupled to light guide G02B6/29335
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/29395 configurable, e.g. tunable or reconfigurable switching G02B6/35

Abstract

An optical bench that provides a core component for a communication system that performs all of the necessary switching, adding, dropping, and manipulating of optical signals entirely in the optical domain. The optical bench comprises a dispersive optical element and a spatial light modulator. Various devices that are useful in the field of optical communication can be produced using the optical bench apparatus as a core component, with the addition of other components to the optical bench. Exemplary optical communication devices that can be built using the optical bench include optical add/drop multiplexers (OADM), Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) routers, tunable filters, tunable laser sources, optical cross connects, and the like.

Claims

1. A monolithic optical apparatus, comprising

a wavelength dispersive optical element receiving a substantially collimated input signal having multiple wavelengths and providing a wavelength dispersed output signal;

and

a spatial modulator element receiving said wavelength dispersed output signal and providing an output signal comprising at least a portion of each dispersed wavelength;

wherein said wavelength dispersive optical element and said spatial modulator element are provided on a single substrate.

2. The monolithic optical apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wavelength dispersive optical element receives a substantially collimated input signal propagating in a first direction, and provides a first wavelength dispersed output signal and a second wavelength dispersed output signal;

and

wherein the spatial modulator element receives the first wavelength dispersed output signal and the second wavelength dispersed output signal and provides a transmitted output signal and a reflected signal; and

the monolithic optical apparatus further comprising a collimating optical element that receives the reflected signal and provides a substantially collimated output signal propagating in a second direction substantially opposite to the first direction.

3. The monolithic optical apparatus of claim 2, wherein the wavelength dispersive optical element and the collimating optical element are the same optical structure viewed from opposite ends thereof.

4. The monolithic optical apparatus of claim 2, wherein one of the transmitted output signal and the reflected signal comprises a signal modulated to have substantially zero intensity.

5. The monolithic optical apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a second wavelength dispersive optical element receiving the output signal provided by the spatial modulator and providing a substantially collimated output signal.

6. The monolithic optical apparatus of claim 5, wherein the substantially collimated output signal is directed in substantially the same direction as that of the substantially collimated input signal.

7. The monolithic optical apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an absorbing surface that absorbs selected wavelengths from the spatial modulator output signal, the spatial modulator controlling the selection.

8. The monolithic optical apparatus of claim 7, wherein the spatial modulator dynamically controls which of the selected wavelengths from the wavelength dispersed output signal are to be absorbed.

9. The monolithic optical apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wavelength dispersive optical element receives a substantially collimated input signal propagating in a first direction;

and

the wavelength dispersive optical element receives the output signal provided by the spatial modulator and provides a substantially collimated output signal propagating in a second direction.

10. The monolithic optical apparatus of claim 9, wherein the second direction of propagation is substantially opposite to the first direction of propagation.

11. The monolithic optical apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a variable reflection filter to select wavelengths from the wavelength dispersed output signal to be reflected.

12. The monolithic optical apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a variable transmission filter to select wavelengths from the wavelength dispersed output signal to be transmitted.

13. A microelectromechanical optical apparatus, comprising

a wavelength dispersive optical element receiving a substantially collimated input signal having multiple wavelengths and providing a wavelength dispersed output signal;

and

a spatial modulator element receiving said wavelength dispersed output signal and providing an output signal comprising at least a portion of each dispersed wavelength.

14. The microelectromechanical optical apparatus of claim 13, wherein said wavelength dispersive optical element and said spatial modulator element are collocated on a single substrate.

15. The microelectromechanical optical apparatus of claim 14, wherein said single substrate comprises a polycrystalline material.

16. The microelectromechanical optical apparatus of claim 14, wherein said single substrate comprises a single crystal.

17. The microelectromechanical optical apparatus of claim 14, wherein said single substrate comprises a semiconductor single crystal.

18. The microelectromechanical optical apparatus of claim 13, further comprising a second wavelength dispersive optical element receiving the output signal provided by the spatial modulator and providing a substantially collimated output signal.

19. The microelectromechanical optical apparatus of claim 18, wherein the substantially collimated output signal is directed in substantially the same direction as that of the substantially collimated input signal.

20. The microelectromechanical optical apparatus of claim 13, further comprising an absorbing surface that absorbs selected wavelengths from the spatial modulator output signal, the spatial modulator controlling the selection.

21. The microelectromechanical optical apparatus of claim 20, wherein the spatial modulator dynamically controls which of the selected wavelengths from the wavelength dispersed output signal are to be absorbed.

22. The microelectromechanical optical apparatus of claim 13, further comprising a variable reflection filter to select wavelengths from the wavelength dispersed output signal to be reflected.

23. The microelectromechanical optical apparatus of claim 13, further comprising a variable transmission filter to select wavelengths from the wavelength dispersed output signal to be transmitted.

24. The microelectromechanical optical apparatus of claim 13, wherein the wavelength dispersive optical element receives a substantially collimated input signal propagating in a first direction, and

the wavelength dispersive optical element receives the output signal provided by the spatial modulator and provides a substantially collimated output signal propagating in a second direction.

25. The microelectromechanical optical apparatus of claim 24, wherein the second direction of propagation is substantially opposite to the first direction of propagation.

26. The microelectromechanical optical apparatus of claim 13, wherein the wavelength dispersive optical element receives a substantially collimated input signal propagating in a first direction, and provides a first wavelength dispersed output signal and a second wavelength dispersed output signal;

and

wherein the spatial modulator element receives the first wavelength dispersed output signal and the second wavelength dispersed output signal and provides a transmitted output signal and a reflected signal; and

the microelectromechanical optical apparatus further comprising a collimating optical element that receives the reflected signal and provides a substantially collimated output signal propagating in a second direction substantially opposite to the first direction.

27. The microelectromechanical optical apparatus of claim 26, wherein the wavelength dispersive optical element and the collimating optical element are the same optical structure viewed from opposite ends thereof.

28. The microelectromechanical optical apparatus of claim 26, wherein one of the transmitted output signal and the reflected signal comprises a signal modulated to have substantially zero intensity.