DBR Ring Resonator Optical Source for Mode Selectivity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing optical sources with distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) ring resonators face issues with mode-selectivity and competing optical modes due to wide bandwidth, making them unsuitable for long optical cavities and high-speed, multi-wavelength applications.
Innovation Solution
An optical source design incorporating semiconductor optical amplifiers with a reflective coating and a DBR ring resonator, where the DBR ring resonators have a common radius but varying grating periods, allowing for tunable wavelengths and reduced mode competition, integrated with a photonic chip and thermal-tuning mechanism for precise wavelength control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) is used as a mirror in an optical cavity, then the device can be integrated into a silicon optical waveguide, but the wide bandwidth of the DBR causes numerous competing optical-cavity modes to appear, reducing mode-selectivity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the optical cavity into multiple sections, each containing a DBR mirror with a different grating period. This segmentation allows each section to reflect a specific wavelength range, thereby selecting a single longitudinal mode while maintaining compatibility with silicon optical waveguide fabrication processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by designing DBR mirrors with spatially varying grating periods. Each DBR section has a specific grating period tailored to reflect a particular wavelength, creating local wavelength-selective regions within the optical cavity that prevent mode competition while maintaining integrability.
2Manufacturing precision
If a ring-resonator mirror is used instead of a DBR, then mode-selectivity is improved due to sharp resonance peaks, but periodic peaks occur multiple times within the spectral bandwidth of the optical gain medium, introducing competing optical modes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs dynamic control of the optical cavity by using thermally-tunable DBR mirrors. By adjusting the temperature of each DBR section, the grating period and reflected wavelength can be dynamically tuned, allowing selective enhancement of a single longitudinal mode while suppressing others, thus eliminating mode competition.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical parameters of the DBR mirrors by varying the grating periods and temperatures of different DBR sections. This parameter variation allows each section to be optimized for a specific wavelength, achieving single-mode selection while maintaining sharp resonance characteristics without the periodic peak problem of conventional ring resonators.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple DBR ring resonators with different grating periods are used to achieve wavelength tuning, then tunable wavelengths are achieved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple DBR mirror functions into a single integrated optical cavity structure. By combining several DBR sections with different grating periods into one cavity, the system achieves multi-wavelength tunability while reducing the overall device complexity compared to using separate resonators for each wavelength.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal optical cavity that can operate at multiple wavelengths by incorporating DBR sections with different grating periods. This multi-functional cavity can be tuned to different wavelengths by selectively activating specific DBR sections, eliminating the need for separate resonators for each wavelength and reducing device complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design provides a compact, energy-efficient, and highly integrated optical source with consistent channel spacing, reducing mode-hopping and enhancing performance in inter- and intra-chip connections by eliminating unnecessary components and optimizing reflection spectra.
Implementation Method 1
a distributed-Bragg-reflector (DBR) ring resonator, optically coupled to the optical waveguide proximate to the fourth edge. The DBR ring resonator at least partially reflects a given tunable wavelength in the given optical signal
Implementation Method 2
a thermal-tuning mechanism thermally coupled to the DBR ring resonators
Implementation Method 3
a set of semiconductor optical amplifiers, defined in a semiconductor other than silicon, which have a first edge and a second edge
Data Source
AI summary
An optical source is described. This optical source includes a set of semiconductor optical amplifiers, with a semiconductor other than silicon, which provides an optical gain medium. In addition, a photonic chip, optically coupled to the set of semiconductor optical amplifiers, includes optical paths. Each of the optical paths includes an optical waveguide and a distributed-Bragg-reflector (DBR) ring resonator. The DBR ring resonator at least partially reflects a given tunable wavelength in an optical signal provided by a given semiconductor optical amplifier. Moreover, the DBR ring resonator includes a different number of grating periods than DBR ring resonators in the remaining optical paths, and the DBR ring resonators in the optical paths have a common radius.