Detector remodulator

• US 9,513,498 B2
• Filed: 02/24/2015
• Issued: 12/06/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rockley Photonics Limited
• Original Assignee: Rockley Photonics Limited
• Inventors: Jones, Haydn Frederick, Rickman, Andrew, Zilkie, Aaron John
• Primary Examiner(s): PEACE, RHONDA S
• Application Number:
  US14/629,922
• Publication Number:
  US 20150277157A1
• Time in Patent Office: 651 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/4295 coupling with semiconductor devices activated by light through the light guide, e.g. thyristors, phototransistors
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/43 Arrangements comprising a plurality of opto-electronic elements and associated optical interconnections
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/0151 modulating the refractive index
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/025 in an optical waveguide structure G02F1/017, G02F1/2257 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/212 Mach-Zehnder type
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/2257 the optical waveguides being made of semiconducting material
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 2/004 Transferring the modulation of modulated light, i.e. transferring the information from one optical carrier of a first wavelength to a second optical carrier of a second wavelength, e.g. all-optical wavelength converter
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 2/008 Opto-electronic wavelength conversion, i.e. involving photo-electric conversion of the first optical carrier
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/29 Repeaters
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/801 using optical interconnects, e.g. light coupled isolators, circuit board interconnections

Abstract

A detector remodulator comprising a silicon on insulator (SOI) waveguide platform including: a detector coupled to a first input waveguide; a modulator coupled to a second input waveguide and an output waveguide; and an electrical circuit connecting the detector to the modulator; wherein the detector, modulator, second input waveguide and output waveguide are arranged within the same horizontal plane as one another; and wherein the modulator includes a modulation waveguide region at which a semiconductor junction is set horizontally across the waveguide.

Claims

1. A detector remodulator comprising:

a silicon on insulator (SOI) chip;

a detector coupled to a first input waveguide;

a SiGe or homogeneous Si modulator, on the SOI chip, coupled to a second input waveguide and an output waveguide; and

an electrical circuit connecting the detector to the modulator;

wherein the modulator includes a waveguide including a modulation region at which a semiconductor junction is set across the waveguide of the modulator, the junction comprising a first doped region and a second doped region;

wherein;

the electrical circuit is connected to a first electrical pad on a first side of the modulation region, the first electrical pad forming a contact directly to the first doped region,

the electrical circuit is connected to a second electrical pad on a second side of the modulation region, the second electrical pad forming a contact directly to the second doped region, and

the electrical circuit comprises a signal path from the detector to the modulator, the signal path having a portion in an integrated circuit.

2. The detector remodulator of claim 1, wherein the first input waveguide, the detector, the modulator, the second input waveguide, and output waveguide are arranged within the same horizontal plane as one another.

3. The detector remodulator of claim 1, wherein the semiconductor junction of the modulation region is a p-n junction having a p-doped region and an n-doped region.

4. The detector remodulator of claim 3, wherein the first electrical pad forms a contact directly to the p-doped region of the p-n junction and the second electrical pad forms a contact directly to the n-doped region of the p-n junction.

5. The detector remodulator of claim 1, wherein the semiconductor junction of the modulation region is a p-i-n junction having a p-doped region, an intrinsic region, and an n-doped region.

6. The detector remodulator of claim 5, wherein the first electrical pad forms a contact directly to the p-doped region of the p-i-n junction and the second electrical pad forms a contact directly to the n-doped region of the p-i-n junction.

7. The detector remodulator of claim 1, wherein the modulation region of the modulator is formed from a bulk semiconductor material.

8. The detector remodulator of claim 1, wherein the detector comprises a waveguide portion with a semiconductor junction set horizontally across the waveguide portion.

9. The detector remodulator of claim 8, wherein the semiconductor junction of the detector is a p-i-n junction.

10. The detector remodulator of claim 9, wherein the semiconductor junction of the detector includes an n-i-n, n-p-n or p-i-p junction such that it functions as a phototransistor.

11. The detector remodulator of claim 6, wherein the electrical circuit is connected to a third electrical pad forming a contact directly to the intrinsic region of the p-i-n junction.

12. The detector remodulator of claim 1, wherein the detector is formed from a bulk semiconductor material.

13. The detector remodulator of claim 1, wherein the electrical circuit is monolithic.

14. The detector remodulator of claim 1, wherein the electrical circuit is a stripline circuit.

15. The detector remodulator of claim 1, wherein the modulator is an electro-absorption modulator (EAM).

16. The detector remodulator of claim 1, wherein the modulator is a Mach-Zehnder modulator (MZM).

17. The detector remodulator of claim 16, wherein each arm of the MZM includes a modulation region and a phase shift region in addition to the modulation region;

and wherein the phase shift region has a lower speed than the modulation regions.

18. The detector remodulator of claim 1, wherein the modulator is a Fabry-Perot resonator modulator.

19. The detector remodulator of claim 18, wherein the modulator is formed in a single waveguide section by two reflectors in series with one or more modulation regions between the two reflectors.

20. The detector remodulator of claim 19, wherein the reflectors are DBR gratings.

21. The detector remodulator of claim 20, wherein the Fabry-Perot resonator cavity includes a phase shift region in addition to the modulation region.

22. The detector remodulator of claim 21, wherein the phase shift region has a lower speed than the modulation regions.

23. The detector remodulator of claim 1, wherein the modulator is a ring resonator modulator.

24. The detector remodulator of claim 23, wherein the ring resonator modulator comprises a ring-shaped waveguide and a single straight waveguide to couple light both into and out of the ring-shaped waveguide.

25. The detector remodulator of claim 23, wherein the ring resonator comprises a ring-shaped waveguide;

a first straight waveguide to couple light into the ring-shaped waveguide; and

a second straight waveguide to couple light out of the ring-shaped waveguide.

26. The detector remodulator of claim 1, wherein the electrical circuit includes a variable resistor.

27. The detector remodulator of claim 1, wherein the electrical circuit is surface mounted.