Optical device

• US 20050271313A1
• Filed: 03/25/2005
• Published: 12/08/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: National Institute for Materials Science, Sumitomo Osaka Cement Company Limited
• Original Assignee: National Institute for Materials Science, Sumitomo Osaka Cement Company Limited
• Inventors: Oikawa, Satoshi, Kurimura, Sunao, Kitamura, Kenji, Ichikawa, Junichiro, Ichioka, Masayuki, Yamamoto, Futoshi
• Granted Patent: US 7,174,059 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 385/3
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/035 in an optical waveguide structure
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/0356 controlled by a high-frequency electromagnetic wave component in an electric waveguide structure
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/055 the active material being a ceramic G02F1/035 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/21 by interference
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/225 in an optical waveguide structure
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 2201/34 reflector

Abstract

The present invention provides a highly-integrated and compact optical element and further provides an optical element having various functions such as lower driving voltage, chirping suppression and polarization-independency.

The optical element comprising a substrate 1 consisting of a material having an electrooptic effect, top optical waveguides 2-1 an 2-2 formed on the top face of said substrate, bottom optical waveguides formed on the bottom face of said substrate, a top modulating electrode for controlling the phase of a light wave being propagated through said top optical waveguide, and a bottom modulating electrode for controlling the phase of a light wave being propagated through said bottom optical waveguide, is characterized in that at least one side edge of said substrate comprises output and input of said optical waveguides formed on said top and bottom faces, and a turnback element is located adjacent to said one side edge to guide the light wave from said output to said input.

Claims

1. An optical element comprising

a substrate formed of a material having an electrooptic effect,

a top optical waveguide formed on a top face of said substrate,

a bottom optical waveguide formed on a bottom face of said substrate,

a top modulating electrode for controlling a phase of a light wave being propagated through said top optical waveguide, and

a bottom modulating electrode for controlling a phase of a light wave being propagated through said bottom optical waveguide, wherein

at least one side edge of said substrate comprises output and input of said optical waveguides formed on said top and bottom faces, and

a turnback element is located adjacent to said one side edge to guide the light wave from said output to said input.

2. The optical element according to claim 1, wherein at least one part of said top modulating electrode or of said bottom modulating electrode is formed on a plate-like body apart from said substrate, and said plate-like body is located adjacent to said substrate.

3. The optical element according to claim 1, wherein said top modulating electrode and said bottom modulating electrode are electrically connected to each other, and a high frequency electrical signal traveling through said top modulating electrode travels through said bottom modulating electrode.

4. The optical element according to claim 3, wherein said electrical connection is formed in a line penetrating said substrate, in a line formed on a side edge of said substrate, or in a conductive member connected to said substrate.

5. The optical element according to claim 1, wherein

said top optical waveguide and said bottom optical waveguide, being optically connected to each other, respectively comprise at least two optical waveguides, and

said optical connections, location of the optical waveguides and the modulating electrode on each face and a pattern of said modulating electrode are configured such that modulation of the light wave being propagated through said two optical waveguides by the top modulating electrode and modulation of the light wave being propagated through said two optical waveguides by the bottom modulating electrode generate changes of refractive index having the same sign to each optical waveguide.

6. The optical element according to claim 1, wherein

said top optical waveguide and said bottom optical waveguide, being optically connected to each other, respectively comprise at least two optical waveguides, and

said optical connections, location of the optical waveguides and the modulating electrode on each face and a pattern of said modulating electrode are configured such that modulation of the light wave being propagated through said two optical waveguides by the top modulating electrode and modulation of the light wave being propagated through said two optical waveguides by the bottom modulating electrode generate changes of refractive index having the opposite sign to each optical waveguide.

7. The optical element according to claim 1, wherein

said top optical waveguide and said bottom optical waveguide, being optically connected to each other, respectively comprise at least one optical waveguide, and

a location of the optical waveguide and the modulating electrode on each face and a pattern of said modulating electrode are configured such that the light wave being propagated through said optical waveguide is modulated mainly by the top modulating electrode in its plane of polarization and said light wave is modulated mainly by the bottom modulating electrode in a second plane of polarization.

8. The optical element according to claim 5, wherein said optical waveguides, being optically connected, pass through a substrate region having different ferroelectric spontaneous polarization directions at the top and bottom faces.

13. The optical element according to claim 6, wherein said optical waveguides, being optically connected, pass through a substrate region having different ferroelectric spontaneous polarization directions at the top and bottom faces.

14. The optical element according to claim 7, wherein said optical waveguides, being optically connected, pass through a substrate region having different ferroelectric spontaneous polarization directions at the top and bottom faces.

9. An optical element comprising

a substrate formed of a material having an electrooptic effect,

a plurality of optical waveguides formed on said substrate, and

a modulating electrode for applying electric field into said optical waveguides, wherein said modulating electrode comprises at least two branching and confluence lines on a same line for applying a same modulating signal into different optical waveguides.

10. The optical element according to claim 9, wherein a ferroelectric spontaneous polarization of one part of said substrate comprising the optical waveguides, into which electric field is applied by said branching and confluence lines, is reversed.

11. The optical element according to claim 9, wherein one portion of said optical waveguides is turned back at a side edge of said substrate, and the branching and confluence lines on the same line are respectively positioned at least before and behind said turnback of optical waveguide.

12. The optical element according to claim 9, wherein said optical waveguides comprise a plurality of Mach-Zehnder type optical waveguides being connected in series, and a plurality of branching and confluence lines on a same line are located corresponding to each of said Mach-Zehnder type optical waveguides.

15. The optical element according to claim 10, wherein one portion of said optical waveguides is turned back at a side edge of said substrate, and the branching and confluence lines on the same line are respectively positioned at least before and behind said turnback of optical waveguide.

16. The optical element according to claim 10, wherein said optical waveguides comprise a plurality of Mach-Zehnder type optical waveguides being connected in series, and a plurality of branching and confluence lines on a same line are located corresponding to each of said Mach-Zehnder type optical waveguides.

17. The optical element according to claim 11, wherein said optical waveguides comprise a plurality of Mach-Zehnder type optical waveguides being connected in series, and a plurality of branching and confluence lines on a same line are located corresponding to each of said Mach-Zehnder type optical waveguides.