Integrated optical latch
First Claim
1. An optically controlled optical latch device, comprising:
- first and second integrated waveguide loops for guiding optical signals;
a first nonlinear phase shifting element for phase shifting optical signals in the first integrated waveguide loop;
a first tunable input coupler for receiving a portion of an optical output signal of the second integrated waveguide loop and a first optical input signal, and providing resulting optical input signals in clockwise and counter-clockwise directions of the first integrated waveguide loop;
a first bias coupler for providing an optical set signal in the first integrated waveguide loop;
a second bias coupler for providing an optical reset signal in the second integrated waveguide loop; and
a first output coupler for providing a portion of an optical output signal of the first integrated waveguide loop to the second integrated waveguide loop;
wherein the optical latch device is triggered on by an optical set signal at the first bias coupler, and triggered off by an optical reset signal at the second bias coupler.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Techniques are disclosed for optical switching and data control, without the interaction of electronic switching speeds. In one example embodiment, a common cavity optical latch is provided that that can hold an optical state for an extended period of time, and the operation of which is controlled optically. Optical phase control allows optical modal switching to be employed between two common optical cavities, using incident optical signals and the way in which the cavities manipulate the phase within them to lock in one or the other configuration, thereby forming an optical latch. The optical latch is implemented in an integrated fashion, such as in a CMOS environment.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An optically controlled optical latch device, comprising:
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first and second integrated waveguide loops for guiding optical signals; a first nonlinear phase shifting element for phase shifting optical signals in the first integrated waveguide loop; a first tunable input coupler for receiving a portion of an optical output signal of the second integrated waveguide loop and a first optical input signal, and providing resulting optical input signals in clockwise and counter-clockwise directions of the first integrated waveguide loop; a first bias coupler for providing an optical set signal in the first integrated waveguide loop; a second bias coupler for providing an optical reset signal in the second integrated waveguide loop; and a first output coupler for providing a portion of an optical output signal of the first integrated waveguide loop to the second integrated waveguide loop; wherein the optical latch device is triggered on by an optical set signal at the first bias coupler, and triggered off by an optical reset signal at the second bias coupler. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An optically controlled optical latch device, comprising:
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first and second integrated waveguide loops for guiding optical signals; a first nonlinear phase shifting element for phase shifting optical signals in the first integrated waveguide loop; a second nonlinear phase shifting element for phase shifting optical signals in the second integrated waveguide loop; a first tunable input coupler for receiving a portion of an optical output signal of the second integrated waveguide loop and a first optical input signal, and providing resulting optical input signals in clockwise and counter-clockwise directions of the first integrated waveguide loop; a first bias coupler for providing an optical set signal in the first integrated waveguide loop; a second bias coupler for providing an optical reset signal in the second integrated waveguide loop; a first output coupler for providing a portion of an optical output signal of the first integrated waveguide loop to the second integrated waveguide loop; a second tunable input coupler for receiving the portion of the optical output signal of the first integrated waveguide loop and a second optical input signal, and providing resulting optical input signals in clockwise and counter-clockwise directions of the second integrated waveguide loop; a second output coupler for providing the portion of the optical output signal of the second integrated waveguide loop to the first tunable input coupler; and wherein the optical latch device is triggered on by an optical set signal at the first bias coupler, and triggered off by an optical reset signal at the second bias coupler. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. An optically controlled optical latch device, comprising:
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first and second integrated waveguide loops for guiding optical signals; a first nonlinear phase shifting element for phase shifting optical signals in the first integrated waveguide loop, wherein the first integrated waveguide loop is configured with an inner ring and an outer ring optically coupled to the inner ring, and the first nonlinear phase shifting element is in the inner ring; a second nonlinear phase shifting element for phase shifting optical signals in the second integrated waveguide loop, wherein the second integrated waveguide loop is configured with an inner ring and an outer ring optically coupled to the inner ring, and the second nonlinear phase shifting element is in the inner ring; a first tunable input coupler for receiving a portion of an optical output signal of the second integrated waveguide loop and a first optical input signal, and providing resulting optical input signals in clockwise and counter-clockwise directions of the first integrated waveguide loop; a first bias coupler for providing an optical set signal in the first integrated waveguide loop; a second bias coupler for providing an optical reset signal in the second integrated waveguide loop; a first output coupler for providing a portion of an optical output signal of the first integrated waveguide loop to the second integrated waveguide loop; a second tunable input coupler for receiving the portion of the optical output signal of the first integrated waveguide loop and a second optical input signal, and providing resulting optical input signals in clockwise and counter-clockwise directions of the second integrated waveguide loop; a second output coupler for providing the portion of the optical output signal of the second integrated waveguide loop to the first tunable input coupler; and wherein the optical latch device is triggered on by an optical set signal at the first bias coupler, and triggered off by an optical reset signal at the second bias coupler. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification