Silicide thermal heaters for silicon-on-insulator nanophotonic devices
First Claim
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1. A thermally-switched photo electronic device comprising:
- a silicon layer disposed over an oxide layer, the silicon layer comprising;
an optical waveguide comprising a refractive index, said optical waveguide etched into the silicon layer with a thin slab of silicon surrounding a core region of said optical waveguide; and
a resistive heating element embedded within the silicon layer and located horizontally adjacent and in close proximity to the optical waveguide and the silicon layer for generating heat to the optical waveguide so that the refractive index changes in response to the heat.
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Abstract
A thermally switched Silicon-On-Insulator (SOI) photo electronic device includes a silicon layer including an optical waveguide and a silicide heating element horizontally adjacent to the waveguide. The waveguide has a refractive index that changes with heat applied to the waveguide.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A thermally-switched photo electronic device comprising:
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a silicon layer disposed over an oxide layer, the silicon layer comprising; an optical waveguide comprising a refractive index, said optical waveguide etched into the silicon layer with a thin slab of silicon surrounding a core region of said optical waveguide; and a resistive heating element embedded within the silicon layer and located horizontally adjacent and in close proximity to the optical waveguide and the silicon layer for generating heat to the optical waveguide so that the refractive index changes in response to the heat. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of fabricating a photo electronic device, the method comprising:
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fabricating a silicon layer over an oxide layer, the silicon layer fabricated by a method comprising; etching a deep rib optical waveguide in the silicon layer over the oxide layer with a thin slab of silicon surrounding a core region of said optical waveguide, the waveguide comprising an index of refraction; and embedding a thin resistive heating element horizontally adjacent and in close proximity to the waveguide and the silicon layer to generate heat to the optical waveguide such that the index of refraction changes as a function of variations of heat produced by said heating element. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A thermally-switched photo electronic device comprising:
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a silicon layer disposed over an oxide layer, the silicon layer comprising; a plurality of optical waveguides comprising refractive indices, said optical waveguides etched into the silicon layer with a thin slab of silicon surrounding core regions of said optical waveguides; wherein the optical waveguides are optically separated by a gap etched into the silicon layer; and a resistive heating element thermally coupled with each optical waveguide, the resistive heating element embedded within the silicon layer and located horizontally adjacent and in close proximity to its associated optical waveguide and the silicon layer for generating heat to its associated optical waveguide so that the refractive index changes in response to the heat. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification