555 results about "Planar optical waveguide" patented technology

PCT No. PCT/US97/22760 Sec. 371 Date Jun. 10, 1999 Sec. 102(e) Date Jun. 10, 1999 PCT Filed Dec. 12, 1997 PCT Pub. No. WO98/26315 PCT Pub. Date Jun. 18, 1999A planar optical device is formed on a substrate (12) and comprising an array of waveguide cores (14) and a cladding layer (16) formed contiguously with the cores. At least one of the array of waveguide cores (14) and the cladding layer (16) is an inorganic-organic hybrid material that comprises an extended matrix containing silicon and oxygen atoms with at least a fraction of the silicon being directly bonded to substituted or unsubstituted hydrocarbon atoms. In accordance with other embodiments of the invention, a method of forming an array of cores comprises the steps of preparing a core composition precursor material; partially hydrolyzing and polymerizing the material; forming an array of waveguide cores under conditions effective to form an inorganic-organic hybrid material that comprises an extended matrix containing silicon and oxygen atoms with at least a fraction of the silicon being directly bonded to substituted or unsubstituted hydrocarbon atoms.

A method for producing light-scattering structures on flat optical waveguides into which light can be coupled for making the light-scattering structures visible. The light-scattering structures are applied to a surface of the optical waveguide in accordance with a predetermined arrangement prescription. The light-scattering structures are applied directly to the optical waveguide with a non-impact method. The application of the light-scattering structures can occur by imprinting with a computer-controlled, contactless-operating print head or by electro-photographic coating.

A waveguide for a display apparatus comprising a planar optical waveguide part (20) for guiding light to be displayed, an input diffraction grating (21) to diffract received light (7) along the optical waveguide part for guiding thereby, an intermediate diffraction grating (22) to receive diffracted light from the input diffraction grating and to expand the received light in a first dimension by diffraction (8), and an output diffraction grating (23) to receive the expanded light and to output the received expanded light (10) from the optical waveguide part by diffraction for display. The input diffraction grating is positioned so as to be located wholly within the geographical area of the intermediate grating, and the grating vectors of the input diffraction grating and the intermediate diffraction grating are oriented in different respective directions.

There is provided a non-linear optical device for enhancing the bandwidth accessible in the nonlinear generation of an optical signal. The device comprises a planar optical waveguide, the planar optical waveguide being operative to generate an optical output from an optical input having an input bandwidth by means of a non-linear optical process, the optical output having a wavelength within an accessible bandwidth, wherein the planar optical waveguide is operative to enhance the accessible bandwidth such that the ratio of the accessible bandwidth to the input bandwidth is at least 4. The device is particularly applicable to broad optical continuum generation, but may also be used in a parametric oscillator or amplifier arrangement with broad tuning range.

A method for manufacturing a waveguide for a display apparatus comprising providing a planar optical waveguide part (20), depositing upon the optical waveguide part a fluid material (11) curable to form an optically transparent solid, impressing (30) upon the fluid material an impression defining an input diffraction grating region, an intermediate diffraction grating region and an output diffraction grating region wherein the fluid material of the intermediate diffraction grating region is continuous with the fluid material of at least the input diffraction grating region, curing (45) the impressed fluid material to solidify said impression. The physical location of the input diffraction grating is located wholly within the geographical area of the intermediate grating, and the grating vectors of the input diffraction grating and the intermediate diffraction grating are oriented in different respective directions.

The present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a planar optical waveguide and a micro-lens using a transcribed resin formed by the optical nano-imprint technique. The method includes a step for forming a resin contained with ultraviolet curable materials on the substrate. The mold is pressed against the resin. This step forms a patterned resin that reflects the pattern formed in the mold. After hardening the resin by irradiating the ultraviolet rays, the resin is cooled down as the mold is pressed against the resin from the temperature T₁, where the mold is pressed, to T₂ below T₁. After cooling down the temperature of the resin, the mold is detached to complete the resin with the pattern transcribed from the mold.

An optical biosensor has a first enclosure with a pathogen recognition surface, including a planar optical waveguide and grating located in the first enclosure. An aperture is in the first enclosure for insertion of sample to be investigated to a position in close proximity to the pathogen recognition surface. A laser in the first enclosure includes means for aligning and means for modulating the laser, the laser having its light output directed toward said grating. Detection means are located in the first enclosure and in optical communication with the pathogen recognition surface for detecting pathogens after interrogation by the laser light and outputting the detection. Electronic means is located in the first enclosure and receives the detection for processing the detection and outputting information on the detection, and an electrical power supply is located in the first enclosure for supplying power to the laser, the detection means and the electronic means.

An apparatus for illuminating a sample includes a planar waveguide. The planar waveguide includes a first substrate, including a first outer surface and a first inner surface, and a second substrate, including a second outer surface and a second inner surface. The first and second inner surfaces of the first and second substrates, respectively, are spaced apart from each other and partly define a volume for confining the sample therein. The apparatus also includes a light source for providing light directed toward the planar waveguide, such that the light is optically coupled to and contained within the planar waveguide between the outer surfaces of the first and second substrates, while illuminating at least a portion of the sample confined within the volume.

The invention discloses a holographic optical waveguide, and belongs to the technical field of augmented reality and virtual reality. The holographic optical waveguide comprises a planar optical waveguide, and an optical coupling in end and an optical coupling out end which are respectively arranged at the two ends of the planar optical waveguide. The optical coupling in end reflects received light rays so that the reflected light rays are enabled to meet the total reflection conditions to be transmitted to the optical coupling out end through multiple times of total reflection between the two reflecting surfaces of the planar optical waveguide. The received light rays are diffractively emergent out of the optical coupling out end. The optical coupling out end is a holographic grating. The holographic grating is a polarization holographic liquid crystal grating comprising a transparent substrate, a light orientation layer and a liquid crystal layer which are arranged in turn, wherein polarization holographic patterns having periodic structures are recorded on the light orientation layer. The invention also discloses a holographic optical waveguide display device. The polarization holographic liquid crystal grating is used as the optical coupling out end of the holographic optical waveguide so that 100% of diffraction efficiency can be achieved theoretically, and zero order waves can be suppressed and conjugate images can be eliminated.

The present invention provides an optical waveguide modulator. In one embodiment, the optical waveguide modulator includes a semiconductor planar optical waveguide core and doped semiconductor connecting paths located adjacent opposite sides of the core and capable of applying a voltage across the core. The optical waveguide core and connecting paths form a structure having back-to-back PN semiconductor junctions. In another embodiment, the optical waveguide modulator includes a semiconductor optical waveguide core including a ridge portion wherein the ridge portion has at least one PN semiconductor junction located therein. The optical waveguide modulator also includes one or more doped semiconductor connecting paths located laterally adjacent the ridge portion and capable of applying a voltage to the ridge portion.

The invention belongs to the technical field of communication, relates to an asymmetric planar optical waveguide mode multiplexing/demultiplexing device based on few-mode fibers, in particular to a planar optical waveguide mode multiplexing/demultiplexing device which is used for mode diversity multiplexing communication and facilitates interconnection. The device is of a Y-shaped structure and composed of a waveguide main arm and a plurality of waveguide branch arms, wherein the number of the waveguide branch arms is same as the number of transmission modes of the few-mode fibers; the waveguide main arm and the waveguide branch arms are respectively composed of a core layer and a cladding, and the refraction index of the core layers of each of the waveguide main arm and the waveguide branch arms and the refraction index of the cladding of each of the waveguide main arm and the waveguide branch arms are same as the refraction index of a fiber core of each few-mode fiber and the refraction index of a cladding of each few-mode fiber respectively. The asymmetric planar optical waveguide mode multiplexing/demultiplexing device is simple in structure, low in loss, easy to integrate, stable in performance, wide in broadband, simple and efficient.

The invention relates to the technical field of photonic devices, in particular to a vertical coupling grating coupler bonded by metal and a manufacturing method thereof. The grating coupler comprises a carrier piece, a metal bonding layer serving as a reflective mirror layer, a lower limiting layer of slab waveguide, tapered waveguide and submicron waveguide, a sandwich layer of the slab waveguide, the tapered waveguide and the submicron waveguide , an upper limiting layer of the slab waveguide, the tapered waveguide and the submicron waveguide and an optical fiber, wherein the carrier piece is formed by a silicon wafer or a glass sheet, the lower limiting layer is formed by a DVS-BCB layer, the sandwich layer is formed by a silicon layer, the upper limiting layer is formed by a silicon oxide oxidation layer, the slab waveguide, the tapered waveguide and the submicron waveguide are mutually linked up in the horizontal direction, a coupling grating and a reflecting grating are manufactured on the surface of the slab waveguide sandwich layer, and one end of the optical fiber is vertically close to the surface of the upper limiting layer of an SOI with a silicon substrate removed. According to the vertical coupling grating coupler, high-efficiency vertical coupling between the optical fiber and planar optical waveguide can be realized.

The invention discloses a waveguide display based on a diffractive optical element. The waveguide display comprises an image source, an input coupler, an output coupler and a planar optical waveguide, wherein the output coupler is a multiplexed volume holographic grating. By adopting the structure, the problem of limitation on the field angle of the conventional waveguide display based on the diffractive optical element is solved. The waveguide display can be widely applied to the field of waveguide displays.

A one step process for fabricating planar optical waveguides comprises using a laser to cut at least two channels in a substantially planar surface of a piece of dielectric material defining a waveguide there between. The shape and size of the resulting guide can be adjusting by selecting an appropriate combination of laser beam spatial profile, of its power and of the exposure time. A combination of heating and writing lasers can also be used to fabricate waveguides in a dielectric substrate, wherein the heating laser heats the substrate with a relatively broad focused spot, the power of the heating laser being controlled to raise the temperature heating the substrate just below the substrate's threshold temperature at which it begins to absorb electro-magnetic radiation, the writing laser, which yields a spot size smaller than the heating laser then melts the substrate within the focal spot of the heating laser. Compare to processes from the prior art, a waveguide fabrication process according to the present invention results in lower cost, faster processing time and applicability to a wider range of materials. The present process is particularly suited for the mass production of inexpensive photonic devices.

The invention discloses a planar optical waveguide and a manufacturing method thereof. The planar optical waveguide comprises a lower cladding, a waveguide core layer, an isolation layer and an upper cladding; the refractive index of the upper cladding is equal to that of the lower cladding and is higher than that of the isolation layer; the isolation layer is formed on the lower cladding; the waveguide core layer is packaged completely in the isolation layer; the upper cladding is formed on the isolation layer. The refractive index distribution of the planar optical waveguide is optimized, the loss of a device is reduced, and the 1250-1650 full band width performance can be realized more easily.

The invention provides an apparatus and method for highly selective and sensitive chemical sensing. Two modes of laser light are transmitted through a waveguide, refracted by a thin film host reagent coating on the waveguide, and analyzed in a phase sensitive detector for changes in effective refractive index. Sensor specificity is based on the particular species selective thin films of host reagents which are attached to the surface of the planar optical waveguide. The thin film of host reagents refracts laser light at different refractive indices according to what species are forming inclusion complexes with the host reagents.

Methods of forming a tapered evanescent coupling region for use with a relatively thin silicon optical waveguide formed with, for example, an SOI structure. A tapered evanescent coupling region is formed in a silicon substrate that is used as a coupling substrate, the coupling substrate thereafter joined to the SOI structure. A gray-scale photolithography process is used to define a tapered region in photoresist, the tapered pattern thereafter transferred into the silicon substrate. A material exhibiting a lower refractive index than the silicon optical waveguide layer (e.g., silicon dioxide) is then used to fill the tapered opening in the substrate. Advantageously, conventional silicon processing steps may be used to form coupling facets in the silicon substrate (i.e., angled surfaces, V-grooves) in an appropriate relation to the tapered evanescent coupling region. The coupling facets may be formed contiguous with the tapered evanescent coupling region, or formed through the opposing side of the silicon substrate.

An optical module is disclosed. The optical module includes a substrate, and at least one planar optical waveguide that includes a plurality of waveguides and at least one groove vertically penetrating the upper surface of the substrate and which is successively laminated on the substrate. The optical module also includes at least one PCB having at least one integrated photoelectric conversion device that is positioned on the planar optical waveguide facing a corresponding groove, and at least one optical connection block including a body and optical fibers embedded in the body in such a manner that both ends thereof are exposed to the lateral and upper surfaces of the body. The optical connection block is inserted into the corresponding groove of the planar optical waveguide in such a manner that both ends of the optical fibers, which have been exposed, face the waveguides and the PCBs, respectively.