Integrated optical multiplexer and demultiplexer for wavelength division transmission of information
First Claim
1. A method for manufacturing an optical demultiplexer on an integrated circuit substrate for wavelength division transmission of information, comprising:
- fabricating an array of optical detectors on the substrate based on a predetermined optical detector design analysis;
fabricating a signal conditioning circuit on the substrate adjacent to the array of optical detectors and coupling the signal conditioning circuit to the array of optical detectors;
forming a first layer of optically transparent material on the substrate covering the array of optical detectors and signal conditioning circuit;
fabricating a binary blazed grating on the first layer of optically transparent material; and
forming a second layer of optically transparent material over the first layer and binary blazed grating to form an optical waveguide for diffracting incident light.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A multiplexer/demultiplexer is provided for optical interconnection between electronic components on an integrated circuit chip. The multiplexer/demultiplexer includes a substrate formed with an array of photo emitters/detectors and conditioning electronics coupled thereto. A first layer of optically transparent material is formed on the substrate overlying the emitters/detectors and a second layer of optically transparent material, functioning as an optical waveguide, is formed on the first layer. A binary blazed grating is formed at the interface of the two layers. For multiplexing, discrete wavelength optical signals are modulated with data, emitted by the emitters, intercepted by the binary blazed grating, and multiplexed into a polychromatic beam for transmission through the waveguide. For demultiplexing, the discrete wavelengths are separated by the binary blazed grating and directed to corresponding detectors. The conditioning electronics receive and demodulate the output of the detectors to extract data, and format the data for communication with electronic components.
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Citations
38 Claims
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1. A method for manufacturing an optical demultiplexer on an integrated circuit substrate for wavelength division transmission of information, comprising:
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fabricating an array of optical detectors on the substrate based on a predetermined optical detector design analysis; fabricating a signal conditioning circuit on the substrate adjacent to the array of optical detectors and coupling the signal conditioning circuit to the array of optical detectors; forming a first layer of optically transparent material on the substrate covering the array of optical detectors and signal conditioning circuit; fabricating a binary blazed grating on the first layer of optically transparent material; and forming a second layer of optically transparent material over the first layer and binary blazed grating to form an optical waveguide for diffracting incident light. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A method for manufacturing an optical multiplexer on an integrated circuit substrate for combining light beams of discrete wavelengths into a single polychromatic beam for wavelength division transmission of information, comprising:
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positioning an array of optical emitters on the substrate; fabricating a signal conditioning circuit on the substrate adjacent to the array of optical emitters and coupling the signal conditioning circuit to the array of optical emitters; forming a first layer of optically transparent material on the substrate covering the array of optical emitters and signal conditioning circuit; fabricating a binary blazed grating on the first layer of optically transparent material; and forming a second layer of optically transparent material over the first layer and binary blazed grating to form an optical waveguide for intercepting light beams of discrete wavelengths and combining the intercepted light beams into a polychromatic light beam for transmission through the optical waveguide. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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Specification