Multilayered optical structures

• US 9,939,579 B2
• Filed: 02/21/2006
• Issued: 04/10/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/26/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NeoPhotonics Corporation (Lumentum Holdings Inc.)
• Original Assignee: NeoPhotonics Corporation (Lumentum Holdings Inc.)
• Inventors: Bryan, Michael A., Bi, Xiangxin
• Primary Examiner(s): Wieczorek, Michael
• Assistant Examiner(s): Miller, Michael G
• Application Number:
  US11/358,238
• Publication Number:
  US 20060141142A1
• Time in Patent Office: 4,431 Days
• Field of Search: 427160-169, 427582-585
• CPC Class Codes: B32B 9/04 comprising such particular substance as the main or only constituent of a layer, which is next to another layer of the same or of a different material next to a glass layer B32B17/06; layered products with at least two ceramic layers composed mainly of ceramic B32B18/00
• CPC Class Codes: C03B 19/1415 Reactant delivery systems
• CPC Class Codes: C03B 19/1423 Reactant deposition burners
• CPC Class Codes: C03B 19/1484 Means for supporting, rotating or translating the article being formed
• CPC Class Codes: C03B 2203/34 Plural core other than bundles, e.g. double core
• CPC Class Codes: C03B 2205/40 Monitoring or regulating the draw tension or draw rate
• CPC Class Codes: C03B 2207/02 Elongated flat flame or slit-nozzle type
• CPC Class Codes: C03B 2207/34 Liquid, e.g. mist or aerosol
• CPC Class Codes: C03B 2207/66 Relative motion
• CPC Class Codes: C03B 2207/85 with vapour generated from liquid glass precursors, e.g. directly by heating the liquid
• CPC Class Codes: C03B 37/01413 Reactant delivery systems C03B37/01807 takes precedence; devices therefor in general B01D1/00, B01J4/00
• CPC Class Codes: C03B 37/0142 Reactant deposition burners
• CPC Class Codes: C03B 37/01486 Means for supporting, rotating or translating the preforms being formed, e.g. lathes C03B37/01884 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C03B 37/027 Fibres composed of different sorts of glass, e.g. glass optical fibresC03B37/0253, C03B37/028 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 2235/3201 Alkali metal oxides or oxide-forming salts thereof
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 2235/3203 Lithium oxide or oxide-forming salts thereof
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 2235/3215 Barium oxides or oxide-forming salts thereof
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 2235/3217 Aluminum oxide or oxide forming salts thereof, e.g. bauxite, alpha-alumina
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 2235/3224 Rare earth oxide or oxide forming salts thereof, e.g. scandium oxide
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 2235/3225 Yttrium oxide or oxide-forming salts thereof
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 2235/3227 : Lanthanum oxide or oxide-forming salts thereof
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 2235/3232 : Titanium oxides or titanates, e.g. rutile or anatase
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 2235/3234 : Titanates, not containing zirconia
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 2235/3244 : Zirconium oxides, zirconates, hafnium oxides, hafnates, or oxide-forming salts thereof
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 2235/3251 : Niobium oxides, niobates, tantalum oxides, tantalates, or oxide-forming salts thereof
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 2235/3258 : Tungsten oxides, tungstates, or oxide-forming salts thereof
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 2235/3287 : Germanium oxides, germanates or oxide forming salts thereof, e.g. copper germanate
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 2235/3293 : Tin oxides, stannates or oxide forming salts thereof, e.g. indium tin oxide [ITO]
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 2235/3294 : Antimony oxides, antimonates, antimonites or oxide forming salts thereof, indium antimonate
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 2235/3296 : Lead oxides, plumbates or oxide forming salts thereof, e.g. silver plumbate
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 2235/3298 : Bismuth oxides, bismuthates or oxide forming salts thereof, e.g. zinc bismuthate
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 2235/3409 : Boron oxide, borates, boric acids, or oxide forming salts thereof, e.g. borax
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 2235/3418 : Silicon oxide, silicic acids, or oxide forming salts thereof, e.g. silica sol, fused silica, silica fume, cristobalite, quartz or flint glass constituents C04B2235/36
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 2235/3463 : Alumino-silicates other than clay, e.g. mullite
• CPC Class Codes: C04B 35/14 : based on silica
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/483 : using coherent light, UV to IR, e.g. lasers
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 26/00 : Coating not provided for in groups C23C2/00 - C23C24/00
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2006/12147 : Coupler
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2006/1215 : Splitter
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2006/12176 : Etching
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/02042 : Multicore optical fibres
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/12002 : Three-dimensional structures
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/13 : Integrated optical circuits characterised by the manufacturing method
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/132 : by deposition of thin films
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 40/57 : Improving the yield, e-g- reduction of reject rates

Abstract

Monolithic optical structures include a plurality of layer with each layer having an isolated optical pathway confined within a portion of the layer. The monolithic optical structure can be used as an optical fiber preform. Alternatively or additionally, the monolithic optical structure can include integrated optical circuits within one or more layers of the structure. Monolithic optical structures can be formed by performing multiple passes of a substrate through a flowing particle stream. The deposited particles form an optical material following consolidation. Flexible optical fibers include a plurality of independent light channels extending along the length of the optical fiber. The fibers can be pulled from an appropriate preform.

Claims

1. A method for forming a structure with at least three particle coatings covering at least a portion of a planar substrate surface that has a length and a width, the method comprising:

flowing a reactant stream from a reactant nozzle into a chamber enclosed from the ambient atmosphere and vented through a pumped conduit spaced away from a planar substrate to make a flowing sheet of reactants while simultaneously flowing inert shielding gas from an opening adjacent the reactant nozzle to create flowing sheets of shielding gas that flow in the same direction as the sheet of reactants and confines spreading of the reactants,

reacting the reactant stream along a path to form a stream of particles having a propagation direction; and

depositing at least a portion of the particle stream onto the planar substrate in the chamber by longitudinally moving the substrate through the particle stream three times, wherein at least one of the particle coatings has a different composition from the other two particle coatings and wherein at least one layer is patterned during the deposition process to cover a selected portion of the planar substrate,

wherein the composition of the particle stream changes between the longitudinal movements of the substrate through the particle stream,

wherein the reaction is driven by a light beam along a path that intersects with the path of the flowing sheet of reactants without striking the substrate and

wherein the flowing sheet of reactants has a cross section perpendicular to the propagation direction and is positioned to cover only a portion of the substrate, and is characterized by a major axis and a minor axis, the major axis being at least as large as the substrate width and being at least a factor of two greater than the minor axis so that each longitudinal movement of the substrate forms an entire coating on the substrate, and wherein the shielding gas confines reactants and the particles within the reactant stream and particle stream, respectively, through the chamber.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the deposition rate is at least about 10 g/hr.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the reactant stream is elongated in a direction along the propagation direction of the radiation beam to produce a line of particles with the relative motion of the substrate sweeping at least a portion of the line of product particles across the substrate.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the deposition of the particles comprises moving the substrate relative to the stream of product particles at a rate of at least about 0.1 centimeters per second.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the deposition of the particles comprises moving the substrate relative to the stream of product particles at a rate from about 1 centimeters per second to about 30 centimeters per second.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the depositing of the three particle coatings is performed in no more than about 15 seconds.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the depositing of the three particle coatings is performed in no more than about 9 seconds.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the at least three particle coatings comprises at least five particle coatings and the method further comprises depositing at least a portion of a particle stream onto a substrate by moving the substrate through the particle stream five times within a period of no more than about one minute.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising consolidating the three particle coatings into three layers of optical material having different optical properties.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the consolidating of the three particle coatings is performed following the deposition of the three layers.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein the consolidating of the three particle coatings is performed in at least two heating steps with at least one of the heating steps being performed prior to completing the deposition of the three particles coatings.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the substrate has an aspect ratio between about 1 and about 20.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the length and width are equal and wherein the substrate is circular.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein the patterning during deposition is performed by varying the reactant composition as the substrate is moved through the particle stream.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein the patterning during deposition is performed with a mask.

16. A method for forming a multi-layer, multi-path optical material in a monolithic planar optical structure that is planar in an x-y plane with a height in a z-axis perpendicular to the x-y plane, the method comprising

performing, within a chamber enclosed from the ambient atmosphere and vented through a pumped conduit spaced away from a planar structure, multiple passes of the planar structure through a flowing stream of product particles to form at least three planar layers stacked in the z-axis comprising a cladding layer between a first active layer and a second active layer, each of the planar layers comprising silica glass following consolidation,

wherein the composition of the product particles changes between passes

wherein the first active layer and the second active layer each comprises a plurality of cores each of which forms an optical pathway and compositions forming the first active layer and second active layer are patterned to form the optical pathways,

wherein the plurality of cores each has an index of refraction greater than the cladding layer and

wherein the flowing stream of product particles is formed within the chamber by a reaction driven by a focused radiation beam along a path that intersects with a flowing reactant stream without striking the structure, with the reactant stream entering the chamber from a reactant nozzle, wherein sheets of inert shielding gas are simultaneously flowed from an opening adjacent the reaction nozzle to confine reactants and the product particles within the reactant stream and the particle stream, respectively, through the chamber.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the stream of particles has a cross section characterized by a major axis and a minor axis with the major axis being at least a factor of five larger than the minor axis.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the major axis is sufficiently large that the product stream simultaneously coats the structure along an entire linear dimension extending across the structure resulting in the deposition of an entire coating of the structure with one linear pass through the product stream.

19. The method of claim 16 wherein the flowing reactant stream comprises an aerosol.

20. The method of claim 16 wherein the focused radiation beam is a light beam.

21. The method of claim 16 wherein the particles comprise silica.

22. The method of claim 16 wherein the composition of the product particles between passes differ in dopant composition within a silica host.

23. The method of claim 16 wherein the patterning is performed during deposition.

24. The method of claim 16 wherein the patterning is performed following deposition.