Optical devices with engineered nonlinear nanocomposite materials

• US 6,819,845 B2
• Filed: 08/02/2002
• Issued: 11/16/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 08/02/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: UltraDots, Inc. (Omnipv Incorporated)
• Inventors: Pfenninger, William Matthew, Chin, Alan Hap, Lee, Howard Wing Hoon
• Primary Examiner(s): Sanghavi, Hemang
• Assistant Examiner(s): KNAUSS, SCOTT A
• Application Number:
  US10/211,991
• Publication Number:
  US 20040126072A1
• Time in Patent Office: 837 Days
• Field of Search: 385/5, 385/27, 385/122
• US Class Current: 385/122
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 10/00 Nanotechnology for information processing, storage or transmission, e.g. quantum computing or single electron logic
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 20/00 Nanooptics, e.g. quantum optics or photonic crystals
• CPC Class Codes: C25F 3/12 of semiconducting materials
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2006/12097 Ridge, rib or the like
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2006/12145 Switch
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2006/12147 Coupler
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2006/12159 Interferometer
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2006/12195 Tapering
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/122 Basic optical elements, e.g. light-guiding paths
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/1225 comprising photonic band-gap structures or photonic lattices
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/356 in an optical cross-connect device, e.g. routing and switching aspects of interconnecting different paths propagating different wavelengths to (re)configure the various input and output links switching polarized beams G02B6/3594; power equalizers G02B6/356 and G02B6/3594; path selecting means H04Q11/0001
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/01791 Quantum boxes or quantum dots
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/217 Multimode interference type
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/3515 All-optical modulation, gating, switching, e.g. control of a light beam by another light beam G02F1/353, G02F1/37, G02F1/39 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/3517 using an interferometer
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/3521 using a directional coupler
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/3556 Semiconductor materials, e.g. quantum wells
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/365 in an optical waveguide structure G02F1/377, G02F1/395 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 2/006 All-optical wavelength conversion
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 2202/32 Photonic crystals
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 2202/36 : Micro- or nanomaterials
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/127 : Quantum box structures
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/16 : including, apart from doping materials or other impurities, only elements of Group IV of the Periodic Table
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/1602 : Diamond
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/20 : with a particular shape, e.g. curved or truncated substrate
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/34 : containing only elements of Group IV of the Periodic Table
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 977/834 : Optical properties of nanomaterial, e.g. specified transparency, opacity, or index of refraction

Abstract

The invention relates to an optical device. The optical device comprises a waveguide core and a nanocomposite material optically coupled to the waveguide core. The nanocomposite material includes a plurality of quantum dots. The nanocomposite material has a nonlinear index of refraction γ that is at least 10⁻⁹ cm²/W when irradiated with an activation light having a wavelength λ between approximately 3×10⁻⁵ cm and 2×10⁻⁴ cm.

Claims

1. An optical device comprising:

a) a waveguide core; and

b) a nanocomposite material optically coupled to said waveguide core, said nanocomposite material including a plurality of quantum dots, said nanocomposite material having a nonlinear index of refraction γ

that is at least 10<sup>−

9</sup> cm²/W when irradiated with an activation light having a wavelength λ

between approximately 3×

10<sup>−

5</sup> cm and 2×

10<sup>−

4</sup> cm.

2. The optical device of claim 1, further comprising a light source optically coupled to said nanocomposite material, said light source being configured to irradiate said nanocomposite material with said activation light.

3. The optical device of claim 1, wherein said waveguide core is a first waveguide core, said optical device further comprising a second waveguide core optically coupled to said first waveguide core.

4. The optical device of claim 3, wherein said optical device is configured as a Mach-Zehnder interferometer.

5. The optical device of claim 3, wherein said optical device is configured as an optical transistor.

6. The optical device of claim 3, further comprising an activation waveguide core optically coupled to said nanocomposite material, said activation waveguide core being configured to irradiate said nanocomposite material with said activation light.

7. The optical device of claim 6, further comprising a first cladding layer and a second cladding layer positioned adjacent said first cladding layer, said first waveguide core, said nanocomposite material, and said second waveguide core being positioned in said first cladding layer, said activation waveguide core being positioned in said second cladding layer.

8. The optical device of claim 6, wherein said activation waveguide core includes a tapered portion optically coupled to said nanocomposite material.

9. The optical device of claim 3, wherein said nanocomposite material is positioned between said first waveguide core and said second waveguide core, said nanocomposite material being optically coupled to said second waveguide core.

10. The optical device of claim 9, wherein said optical device is configured as a nonlinear directional coupler.

11. The optical device of claim 1, wherein said optical device is configured as a micro-ring array switch.

12. The optical device of claim 1, wherein said optical device is configured as a digital optical switch.