Method and apparatus for tuning a laser with a Bragg grating in a semiconductor substrate
First Claim
1. A laser apparatus, comprising:
- a gain medium disposed in a semiconductor substrate;
a laser cavity disposed in the semiconductor substrate, the laser cavity optically coupled to the gain medium;
a first reflector defining one end of the laser cavity, the first reflector including a first tunable Bragg grating disposed in the semiconductor substrate, the first tunable Bragg grating including a first plurality of silicon and polysilicon interfaces along the semiconductor substrate such that there is a first plurality of perturbations of a refractive in index along the first tunable Bragg grating, the first tunable Bragg grating to selectively reflect light having a tunable center wavelength so as to emit light through stimulated emission having the tunable center wavelength in the laser cavity; and
a second reflector defining an other end of the laser cavity.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A semiconductor-based laser tuning method and apparatus. In one aspect of the present invention, an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a gain medium disposed in a semiconductor substrate. A laser cavity is disposed in the semiconductor substrate and is optically coupled to the gain medium. A first reflector defines one end of the laser cavity. The first reflector includes a first tunable Bragg grating disposed in the semiconductor substrate. The first tunable Bragg grating includes a first plurality of silicon and polysilicon interfaces along the semiconductor substrate such that there is a first plurality of perturbations of a refractive index along the Bragg grating. The first tunable Bragg grating selectively reflects light having a tunable center wavelength so as to emit light through stimulated emission having the tunable center wavelength in the laser cavity. A second reflector defines an other end of the laser cavity.
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Citations
33 Claims
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1. A laser apparatus, comprising:
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a gain medium disposed in a semiconductor substrate;
a laser cavity disposed in the semiconductor substrate, the laser cavity optically coupled to the gain medium;
a first reflector defining one end of the laser cavity, the first reflector including a first tunable Bragg grating disposed in the semiconductor substrate, the first tunable Bragg grating including a first plurality of silicon and polysilicon interfaces along the semiconductor substrate such that there is a first plurality of perturbations of a refractive in index along the first tunable Bragg grating, the first tunable Bragg grating to selectively reflect light having a tunable center wavelength so as to emit light through stimulated emission having the tunable center wavelength in the laser cavity; and
a second reflector defining an other end of the laser cavity. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A laser apparatus, comprising:
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a gain medium disposed in a semiconductor substrate;
a laser cavity disposed in the semiconductor substrate, the laser cavity optically coupled to the gain medium;
a first reflector defining a first end of the laser cavity, the first reflector including a first tunable Bragg grating disposed in the semiconductor substrate, the first tunable Bragg grating including a plurality of insulated conductor structures protruding into the laser cavity to produce charge modulated regions to induce a plurality of corresponding perturbations of a refractive index along the semiconductor substrate, the first tunable Bragg grating to selectively reflect light having a tunable center wavelength so as to emit light through stimulated emission having the tunable center wavelength in the laser cavity; and
a second reflector defining an other end of the laser cavity. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method for operating a laser, comprising:
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stimulating emission of light from a gain medium in a laser cavity disposed in a semiconductor substrate;
reflecting the emitted light having a tunable center wavelength from an end of the laser cavity so as to further stimulate emission of light having the tunable center wavelength in the laser cavity, wherein the emitted light having the tunable center wavelength is reflected from the end of the laser cavity with a first tunable Bragg grating including a plurality of silicon and polysilicon interfaces along the semiconductor substrate such that there are a plurality of perturbations of a refractive index along the Bragg grating; and
reflecting the emitted light from an other end of the laser cavity. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A method for operating a laser, comprising:
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stimulating emission of light from a gain medium in a laser cavity disposed in a semiconductor substrate;
reflecting the emitted light having a tunable center wavelength from an end of the laser cavity so as to further stimulate emission of light having the tunable center wavelength in the laser cavity, wherein the emitted light having the tunable center wavelength is reflected from the end of the laser cavity with a first tunable Bragg grating including a plurality of insulated conductor structures protruding into the laser cavity to produce charge modulated regions to induce a plurality of corresponding perturbations of a refractive index along the semiconductor substrate; and
reflecting the emitted light from an other end of the laser cavity. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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Specification