Interlayer directional coupling in antiresonant reflecting optical waveguides

Patent 4745607 Issued on May 17, 1988. Estimated Expiration Date:

October 8, 2006. Estimated Expiration Date is calculated based on simple USPTO term provisions. It does not account for terminal disclaimers, term adjustments, failure to pay maintenance fees, or other factors which might affect the term of a patent.

Abstract Claims Description Full Text

Patent References

Heterostructure devices including tapered optical couplers
Patent #: 3978426
Issued on: 08/31/1976
Inventor: Logan , et al.

Double channel planar buried heterostructure laser with periodic structure formed in guide layer Patent #: 4575851
Issued on: 03/11/1986
Inventor: Seki , et al.

Inventor

Koch, Thomas L.

Application

No. 06/916498 filed on 10/08/1986

US Classes:

372/45.01, Particular confinement layer257/E31.059, Device comprising active layer formed only by Group III-V compound (EPO)372/50.21, Having photodetection means372/96, Distributed feedback372/97Plural cavities

Examiners

Primary: Davie, James W.
Assistant: Epps, Georgia

Attorney, Agent or Firm

International Classes

H01S 5/10 (20060101)
G02B 6/12 (20060101)
H01L 31/103 (20060101)
H01S 5/00 (20060101)
H01L 31/102 (20060101)
H01S 5/12 (20060101)
H01S 5/04 (20060101)

Abstract

A grating in the upper reflecting layer (103 or 203) of an antiresonant reflecting optical waveguide is used to extract energy of a selected wavelength from the waveguiding layer (102 or 202) into the reflecting layer. In one embodiment the reflecting layer (103) is designed as a gain medium which is pumped in the region of a grating (120) and optically terminated at each end of the device such that the embodiment serves as a laser having a long cavity provided by the waveguiding layer (102) with the gain provided in the short grating region. In a second embodiment the reflecting layer (203) in the region of a grating (211) has an opposite conductivity dopant from that of the waveguiding layer (202) such that the device in this region may be backbiased to serve as a wavelength selective photodetector. By placing two wavelength photodetectors in tandem with gratings (211 and 212)of different pitches a wavelength demultiplexing photodetector is provided.