Optical switch
First Claim
1. An optical switch comprising:
- a first Mach-Zehnder waveguide interferometer;
a second Mach-Zehnder waveguide interferometer substantially parallel to the first Mach-Zehnder waveguide interferometer; and
a pair of directional couplers, wherein each directional coupler is connected at each end of the first Mach-Zehnder waveguide interferometer and the second Mach-Zehnder waveguide interferometer,wherein each of the first Mach-Zehnder waveguide interferometer and the second Mach-Zehnder waveguide interferometer comprise a pair of coupled resonator optical waveguides sequentially aligned to one another and each comprising;
a semiconductor substrate;
a silicon layer above the semiconductor substrate;
an elongated photonic crystal structure on the silicon layer to propagate an electromagnetic signal therethrough;
a plurality of holes in the elongated photonic crystal structure; and
a pair of electrical contacts in the silicon layer and positioned adjacent to the elongated photonic crystal structure.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An optical switch includes a first Mach-Zehnder waveguide interferometer; a second Mach-Zehnder waveguide interferometer substantially parallel to the first Mach-Zehnder waveguide interferometer; and a pair of directional couplers, wherein each directional coupler is connected at each end of the first Mach-Zehnder waveguide interferometer and the second Mach-Zehnder waveguide interferometer, wherein each of the first Mach-Zehnder waveguide interferometer and the second Mach-Zehnder waveguide interferometer include a pair of coupled resonator optical waveguides sequentially aligned to one another and each including a semiconductor substrate; a silicon layer above the semiconductor substrate; an elongated photonic crystal structure on the silicon layer to propagate an electromagnetic signal therethrough; a plurality of holes in the elongated photonic crystal structure; and a pair of electrical contacts in the silicon layer and positioned adjacent to the elongated photonic crystal structure.
16 Citations
20 Claims
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1. An optical switch comprising:
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a first Mach-Zehnder waveguide interferometer; a second Mach-Zehnder waveguide interferometer substantially parallel to the first Mach-Zehnder waveguide interferometer; and a pair of directional couplers, wherein each directional coupler is connected at each end of the first Mach-Zehnder waveguide interferometer and the second Mach-Zehnder waveguide interferometer, wherein each of the first Mach-Zehnder waveguide interferometer and the second Mach-Zehnder waveguide interferometer comprise a pair of coupled resonator optical waveguides sequentially aligned to one another and each comprising; a semiconductor substrate; a silicon layer above the semiconductor substrate; an elongated photonic crystal structure on the silicon layer to propagate an electromagnetic signal therethrough; a plurality of holes in the elongated photonic crystal structure; and a pair of electrical contacts in the silicon layer and positioned adjacent to the elongated photonic crystal structure. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An in-line coupled dual nanobeam Mach Zehnder interferometer comprising:
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a semiconductor substrate; a silicon layer above the semiconductor substrate; a pair of photonic crystal structures spaced apart from each other and sequentially aligned on the silicon layer to transmit an optical signal therethrough; a plurality of 1D tapered-diameter lattice air holes aligned along a longitudinal axis of the pair of photonic crystal structures; doped regions in the silicon layer and positioned adjacent to the pair of photonic crystal structures; an input coupler connected to a first end of a first photonic crystal structure of the pair of photonic crystal structures to input the optical signal into the pair of photonic crystal structures; and an output coupler connected to a second end of a second photonic crystal structure of the pair of photonic crystal structures to output the optical signal from the photonic crystal structure, wherein the pair of photonic crystal structures are configured to spectrally shape a transmission and reflection of a light field created by the optical signal by shaping the light field to be substantially rectangular. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. An optical switch comprising:
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a pair of photonic crystal structures aligned to transmit an electromagnetic signal; a plurality of holes positioned through the pair of photonic crystal structures and oriented substantially transverse to a longitudinal axis of the pair of photonic crystal structures; a plurality of electrical contacts connected to the pair of photonic crystal structures; and a pair of couplers connected to the pair of photonic crystal structures, wherein the pair of photonic crystal structures are configured to spectrally shape a transmission and reflection of a light field created by the electromagnetic signal by shaping the light field to be substantially rectangular, wherein the spectral shaping of the transmission and reflection of the light field is configured to reduce a noise of the electromagnetic signal, and wherein the spectral shaping of the transmission and reflection of the light field is configured to reduce an energy consumption required for optical switching of the electromagnetic signal. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification