Tapered waveguide interconnection structure and method of fabricating the same

• US 6,813,417 B2
• Filed: 02/20/2002
• Issued: 11/02/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 02/20/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Pacific Wave Industries Incorporated
• Inventors: Oh, Min-Cheol, Fetterman, Harold R., Steier, William, Michael, Joseph
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, John D.
• Application Number:
  US10/081,976
• Publication Number:
  US 20030156794A1
• Time in Patent Office: 986 Days
• Field of Search: 385/27, 385/31, 385/39-43, 385/50, 385/129-132, 385/141-145
• US Class Current: 385/43
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2006/12097 Ridge, rib or the like
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/1221 made from organic materials
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/1228 Tapered waveguides, e.g. integrated spot-size transformers for coupling with fibres G02B6/305
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/42 Coupling light guides with opto-electronic elements
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/065 in an optical waveguide structure

Abstract

A tapered electrooptic (EO) polymer waveguide interconnection structure coupling an EO polymer waveguide and a passive polymer waveguide and a method of fabricating the same.

Claims

1. A method of operably interconnecting an electrooptic (EO) polymer waveguide and a passive polymer waveguide, comprising:

providing a tapered electrooptic (EO) polymer waveguide interconnection structure between an EO polymer waveguide and a passive polymer waveguide, the EO polymer waveguide including a nonlinear chromophore with a tricyanobutadiene acceptor and a phenyltetraene bridge.

2. A waveguide structure, comprising:

an electrooptic (EO) polymer waveguide including a nonlinear chromophore with a tricyanobutadiene acceptor and a phenyltetraene bridge;

a passive polymer waveguide; and

a tapered EO polymer waveguide interconnection structure between the EO polymer waveguide and the passive polymer waveguide.

3. The waveguide structure of claim 2, wherein the EO polymer waveguide and the passive polymer waveguide provide single mode propagation, and the interconnection structure provides a coupling between the two waveguides without higher order mode coupling.

4. The waveguide structure of claim 2, wherein an interconnection loss associated with the interconnection structure is less than 0.4 dB.

5. The waveguide structure of claim 2, wherein the interconnection structure is vertically tapered.

6. The waveguide structure of claim 2, wherein a taper length of the interconnection structure is 300 μ

m or more.

7. The waveguide structure of claim 2, wherein a taper angle of the interconnection structure is no greater than 0.4 degrees.

8. The waveguide structure of claim 2, wherein the EO polymer waveguide and the passive polymer waveguide are formed as rib structure.

9. The waveguide structure of claim 2, wherein the EO polymer waveguide has a higher reflective index that the passive polymer waveguide.

10. The waveguide structure of claim 2, wherein the passive polymer waveguide has a larger mode profile than the EO polymer waveguide.

11. The waveguide structure of claim 2, wherein the passive polymer waveguide comprises a fluorinated polymer.

12. The waveguide structure of claim 2, wherein the passive polymer waveguide comprises a fluorinated acrylate.

13. A method of operably interconnecting an electroptic (EO) polymer waveguide and a passive polymer waveguide, comprising:

providing a tapered electrooptic (EO) polymer waveguide interconnection structure between an EO polymer waveguide and a passive polymer waveguide, the passive polymer waveguide including a fluorinated acrylate.

14. A waveguide structure, comprising:

an electrooptic (EO) polymer waveguide;

a passive polymer waveguide including a fluorinated acrylate; and

a tapered EO polymer waveguide interconnection structure between the EO polymer waveguide and the passive polymer waveguide.

15. The waveguide structure of claim 14, wherein the EO polymer waveguide and the passive polymer waveguide provide single mode propagation, and the interconnection structure provides a coupling between the two waveguides without higher order mode coupling.

16. The waveguide structure of claim 14, wherein an interconnection loss associated with the interconnection structure is less than 0.4 dB.

17. The waveguide structure of claim 14, wherein the interconnection structure is vertically tapered.

18. The waveguide structure of claim 14, wherein a taper length of the interconnection structure is 300 μ

m or more.

19. The waveguide structure of claim 14, wherein a taper angle of the interconnection structure is no greater than 0.4 degrees.

20. The waveguide structure of claim 14, wherein the EO polymer waveguide and the passive polymer waveguide are formed as rib structure.

21. The waveguide structure of claim 14, wherein the EO polymer waveguide has a higher refractive index that the passive polymer waveguide.

22. The waveguide structure of claim 14, wherein the passive polymer waveguide has a larger mode profile than the EO polymer waveguide.

23. The waveguide structure of claim 14, wherein the EO polymer waveguide comprises a nonlinear chromophore.

24. The waveguide structure of claim 23, wherein the nonlinear chromophore includes a tricyanobutadiene acceptor and a phenyltretraene bridge.