Fiber optic coupler array

• US 9,377,587 B2
• Filed: 12/12/2013
• Issued: 06/28/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: OPEL Solar, Inc. (POET Technologies Inc.), University of Connecticut (State of Connecticut)
• Original Assignee: OPEL Solar, Inc. (POET Technologies Inc.), University of Connecticut Technology Partnership & Licensing
• Inventors: Taylor, Geoff W., Zhang, Yan
• Primary Examiner(s): Petkovsek, Daniel
• Application Number:
  US14/104,230
• Publication Number:
  US 20150316723A1
• Time in Patent Office: 929 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/1228 Tapered waveguides, e.g. integrated spot-size transformers for coupling with fibres G02B6/305
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/14 Mode converters
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/305 and having an integrated mode-size expanding section, e.g. tapered waveguide
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/421 the intermediate optical component consisting of a short length of fibre, e.g. fibre stub
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/423 using guiding surfaces for the alignment
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/4249 comprising arrays of active devices and fibres
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/4257 having a supporting carrier or a mounting substrate or a mounting plate G02B6/3648 takes precedence

Abstract

An assembly includes optical fibers each having a waveguide core, a photonic integrated circuit (IC) that includes in-plane waveguides corresponding to the optical fibers, and a substrate bonded to the photonic IC with grooves that support the optical fibers. The substrate and photonic IC can have metal bumps that cooperate to provide mechanical bonding and electrical connections between the substrate and photonic IC. Portions of the optical fibers supported by the substrate grooves can define flat surfaces spaced from the optical fiber cores. The photonic IC can include passive waveguide structures with a first coupling section that interfaces to the flat surface of a corresponding optical fiber (for evanescent coupling of optical signals) and a second coupling section that interfaces to a corresponding in-plane waveguide (for adiabatic spot-size conversion of optical signals).

Claims

1. An assembly comprising:

a plurality of optical fiber waveguides each having a waveguide core;

a photonic integrated circuit that includes a plurality of in-plane waveguide structures corresponding to said plurality of optical fiber waveguides; and

a substrate that is bonded to said photonic integrated circuit, wherein said substrate includes a plurality of grooves that support said plurality of optical fiber waveguides;

wherein portions of said plurality of optical fiber waveguides that are supported by said grooves of said substrate define a corresponding plurality of flat surfaces that are spaced radially from the waveguide cores of said plurality of optical fiber waveguides and that extend parallel to the waveguide cores along the lengthwise dimension of the optical fiber waveguides; and

wherein said photonic integrated circuit includes a plurality of passive waveguide structures that correspond to both said plurality of in-plane waveguide structures of said photonic integrated circuit and said plurality of optical fiber waveguides, each passive waveguide structure including a first coupling section that interfaces to the flat surface of the corresponding optical fiber waveguide and a second coupling section that interfaces to the corresponding in-plane waveguide structure of said photonic integrated circuit, wherein said first coupling section is configured to provide for evanescent coupling of optical signals into or from the corresponding optical fiber waveguide, and the second coupling section is configured to provide for adiabatic spot-size conversion of optical signals between the first coupling section and the corresponding in-plane waveguide structure of said photonic integrated circuit.

2. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein:

said grooves are V-shaped.

3. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein:

a gel mechanically fixes the optical fiber waveguides within the grooves of said substrate.

4. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein:

the substrate comprises a silicon wafer.

5. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein:

the substrate and said photonic integrated circuit both comprise a plurality of metal bump bonds that cooperate to provide both bonding and electrical connections between the substrate and said photonic integrated circuit.

6. An assembly according to claim 5, wherein:

the substrate provides for electrical input and output with respect to said photonic integrated circuit.

7. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein:

the mode size of the optical signals propagating in the optical fiber waveguides is larger than the mode side of the optical signals propagating in the in-plane waveguide structures of said photonic integrated circuit.

8. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein:

the waveguide cores of the optical fiber waveguides are realized from a material with a first refractive index; and

the first coupling section and the second coupling section of the passive waveguide structures of said photonic integrated circuit are realized from a material with a second refractive index that matches said first refractive index.

9. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein:

the waveguide cores of the optical fiber waveguides are realized from silicon dioxide; and

the first coupling section and the second coupling section of the passive waveguide structures of said photonic integrated circuit are also realized silicon dioxide.

10. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein:

the first coupling section of each respective passive waveguide structure has a square cross section with a size that corresponds to size of the optical mode of the corresponding optical fiber waveguide.

11. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein:

the second coupling section of each respective passive waveguide structure defines a number of distinct levels that overlap one another vertically along the length of the second coupling section, wherein each level has opposed sidewalls that taper laterally in width.

12. An assembly according to claim 11, wherein:

the second coupling section includes bottom, intermediate and top levels that extend along the length of the second coupling section;

wherein the top level has a height that corresponds to height of the first coupling section and opposed sidewalls that taper laterally from a width W_I that corresponds to width of the first coupling section to a width W₁,

wherein the second level has a portion that extends beyond the top level with opposed sidewalls that taper laterally from a width W_M to a width W₂ adjacent the corresponding in-plane waveguide structure; and

wherein the third level has a portion that extends beyond the top level with opposed sides that taper laterally from the width W_M to a width W₀;

wherein W₂<

W₁<

W_M<

W_I, and W₀<

W_M.

13. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein:

said photonic integrated circuit is realized with a material system of group III-V materials.

14. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein:

said photonic integrated circuit is realized from an epitaxial layer structure that includes an n-type modulation doped quantum well interface offset vertically from a p-type modulation doped quantum well interface.

15. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein:

said plurality of flat surfaces are formed by mechanically polishing said plurality of optical fiber waveguides.