KR20170049366A - Optical coupler system and method for manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an optical coupling system and a manufacturing method thereof. The optical coupling system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a substrate, a waveguide which is formed on the substrate, a coupler which is formed on the optical waveguide, and a graphene light source which generates an optical signal by emitting light from first graphene, wherein the optical signal generated from the graphene light source can be transmitted to the optical waveguide through the coupler. Accordingly, the present invention can facilitate compatibility between the light source and the substrate of an electronic device by using the graphene light source instead of a semiconductor light source.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to an optical coupling system and a method for manufacturing the optical coupling system.

The present invention relates to a light coupling system and a method of manufacturing the same.

It is necessary to transmit light generated from a semiconductor light source (for example, a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) or a laser diode) to the optical waveguide for optical communication, A semiconductor light source is fixed to the substrate through chip bonding, and in this case, a separate optical component in which a lens, a reflector, and the like are formed is required.

However, according to the above-described conventional techniques, the semiconductor light source must be separately manufactured, and the optical alignment may be distorted during the process of fixing the semiconductor light source to the substrate, thereby lowering the coupling efficiency. Further, the optical coupling efficiency may be lowered depending on the precision of the optical component for optical coupling.

Next, according to another conventional technique, an optical fiber is approached to a grating coupler formed in an optical waveguide to transmit an optical signal to a planar optical waveguide. Even with such a conventional technique, there is a drawback in that it is difficult to irradiate light with an accurate incident angle to the grating coupler, and a semiconductor light source for generating an optical signal can not be integrally integrated in a planar optical circuit.

In another conventional technique, a structure is provided in which a laser diode chip is chip-bonded onto an optical waveguide and the light generated in the laser diode chip is optically coupled to the optical waveguide automatically. However, it is difficult to precisely process the surface of the optical waveguide substrate for bonding the laser diode chip, and there is a problem that the wavelength of the light source may be changed due to heat generated in the laser diode chip.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve all the problems of the prior art described above.

Another object of the present invention is to use graphene as a light source in place of a semiconductor light source and to efficiently transmit optical signals generated from graphene to a planar optical waveguide.

In order to accomplish the above object, a representative structure of the present invention is as follows.

The optical coupling system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a substrate, an optical waveguide formed on the substrate, a coupler formed on the optical waveguide, and a graphene light source for generating an optical signal by emitting a first graphene And the optical signal generated from the graphene light source is transmitted to the optical waveguide through the coupler.

The graphene light source may include a graphen support portion supporting the first graphene and an electrode formed on at least a portion of the first graphene such that the first graphene and the substrate are spaced apart from each other .

The optical coupling system according to another embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of sub optical coupling systems, each of the plurality of sub optical coupling systems comprising a substrate, an optical waveguide formed on the substrate, And the optical signal generated from the graphene light source is transmitted to the optical waveguide through the coupler, and each of the plurality of sub optical coupling systems includes a plurality of sub- And outputs optical signals having different wavelengths.

A manufacturing method of a photo-coupling system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the steps of: laminating a dielectric layer on a substrate; etching the part of the dielectric layer to form an optical waveguide; forming a coupler on the optical waveguide; Forming a graphen support on a portion of the substrate; transferring the graphene onto the graphen support; and forming an electrode pattern on a portion of the graphene.

According to the present invention, by using a graphene light source in place of the semiconductor light source, compatibility between the light source and the electronic element substrate can be facilitated.

Also, according to the present invention, an optical signal generated in a graphene light source can be efficiently guided to an optical waveguide.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a view showing a configuration of an optical coupling system including a graphene light source according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.
FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a method of operating an optical coupling system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an optical coupling system including an optical signal controller according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG.
4 is a view showing a configuration of an optical coupling system including a graphene light source according to another embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a view for explaining a method of manufacturing an optical coupling system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments, but includes all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.

The terms first, second, etc. may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, the first component may be referred to as a second component, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to as a first component. And / or < / RTI > includes any combination of a plurality of related listed items or any of a plurality of related listed items.

It is to be understood that when an element is referred to as being "connected" or "connected" to another element, it may be directly connected or connected to the other element, . On the other hand, when an element is referred to as being "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another element, it should be understood that there are no other elements in between.

The terminology used in this application is used only to describe a specific embodiment and is not intended to limit the invention. The singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. It is noted that the terms "comprises" or "having" in this application are intended to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof, But do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, parts, or combinations thereof.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning in the context of the relevant art and are to be interpreted in an ideal or overly formal sense unless explicitly defined in the present application Do not.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In order to facilitate the understanding of the present invention, the same reference numerals are used for the same constituent elements in the drawings and redundant explanations for the same constituent elements are omitted.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a view showing a configuration of an optical coupling system including a graphene light source according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

1, an optical coupling system 100 including a graphene light source according to the present invention includes a substrate 110, an optical waveguide 120, a coupler 130, a graphen support 140, A fin 150 and a pair of electrodes 160. [

The substrate 110 may be made of a dielectric material. Examples of the dielectric material include silicon, silicon nitride, and polymers.

The optical waveguide 120 functions to propagate light along a predetermined axis, and may be formed on the substrate 110.

The optical waveguide 120 may be made of a dielectric material, and examples of the dielectric material include silicon, silicon nitride, and polymers.

At this time, the refractive index of the optical waveguide 120 may be higher than the refractive index of the substrate 110.

The coupler 130 may be formed on the optical waveguide 120. Light generated from the first graphene 150 to be described later may be transmitted to the optical waveguide 120 through the coupler 130.

In FIG. 1, it is assumed that the coupler is a grating coupler, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The coupler according to the present invention may be modified to have various shapes according to the wavelength, intensity, and the like of light generated in the first graphene 150, and may form a structure including, for example, a photonic crystal.

The graphen support portion 140 includes a first graphen support portion 141 and a second graphen support portion 143. The first and second graphen support portions 141 and 143 support the first graphene 150 It is possible to carry out a function of supporting.

The first and second graphen supporting portions 141 and 143 are spaced apart from each other and the optical waveguide 120 is disposed between the first graphen supporting portion 141 and the second graphen supporting portion 143 .

As shown in FIG. 1, one side of the first graphene 150 is disposed on the first graphen support 141, and a side of the first graphene 150 opposite to the one side of the first graphene 150 is disposed on the first graphene support 141, And can be disposed on the pin support portion 143.

Accordingly, at least a part of the area of the first graphene 150 may be in the form of floating in the air, separated from the substrate 110 and the optical waveguide 120.

At this time, the height of the graphen supporting portion 140 may be higher than the height of the optical waveguide 120 so that the first graphene 150 may be separated from the substrate 110 and the optical waveguide 120.

The first graphene 150 may function as a light source.

The first graphene 150 may be provided on the first graphen support portion 141 and the second graphene support portion 143 as described above and only a portion of the first graphene 150 may be provided on the first graphene 150, And can contact the supporting portion 141 and the second graphen supporting portion 143.

The area of the first graphene 150 that is not in contact with the first graphen support portion 141 and the second graphene support portion 143 may be floating in the air.

The first graphene 150 may be a single layer graphene or may be composed of more than two layers of multilayer graphene. That is, according to the present invention, it is also possible to provide a light source having a thickness of one atom.

The first graphene 150 is a thin planar material having carbon atoms connected to each other to form a honeycomb and has electrical properties. The carbon atom is a basic unit of a 6-membered ring, and may be formed of a 5-membered ring or a 7-membered ring.

The graphene of a single layer may be equal to the thickness of one carbon atom. That is, according to the present invention, it is also possible to provide a light source having a thickness of carbon atoms.

The electrode 160 according to the present invention includes a first electrode 161 and a second electrode 163 and may function to supply a voltage to the first graphene 150.

As shown in FIG. 1, the first electrode 161 and the second electrode 163 may be formed on the first graphene 150. More specifically, the first electrode 161 and the second electrode 163 are formed only on a partial area of the first graphene 150, and the first electrode 161 contacts the first graphene support 141 And the second electrode 163 is formed on a region in contact with the second graphen supporting portion 143. [

Meanwhile, the first electrode 161 and the second electrode 163 may be formed of a conductive material.

The structure in which the graphene support 140, the graphene 150, and the electrode 160 are combined according to the present invention is referred to as a graphene light source.

Hereinafter, a method of operating the optical coupling system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a method of operating an optical coupling system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2, when a voltage is applied to the first graphene 150 using the first electrode 161 and the second electrode 163, light is emitted from the center of the first graphene 150 170 are generated.

Next, the light 170 generated by the first graphene 150 emits in a direction (z direction) perpendicular to the plane (x-y plane) where the first graphene 150 is formed.

The divergent light 170 is coupled to the optical waveguide 120 through the coupler 130 and the combined light 170 is guided along the optical waveguide 120 in a predetermined traveling direction (x direction).

According to the present invention, the intensity of the light 170 generated from the first graphene 150 corresponds to the intensity of the voltage applied to the first graphene 150. Accordingly, when the intensity of the voltage applied to the first graphene 150 changes with time, the intensity of the light generated from the first graphene 150 thereby changes with time.

An electric signal (voltage) input to the electrode 160 is converted into an optical signal through the first graphene 150 and an optical signal output from the optical waveguide 120 is transmitted through a predetermined converter module (not shown) It can be converted into an electric signal again. That is, optical communication may be possible using the optical coupling system 100 according to the present invention.

Although the width of the optical waveguide 120 is shown as being constant in FIGS. 1 and 2, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the optical waveguide 120 may be formed in a tapered structure.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an optical coupling system including an optical signal controller according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. A detailed description of the same components as those of the optical coupling system disclosed in FIG. 3 will be omitted.

Referring to FIG. 3, the optical coupling system according to the present invention may further include an optical signal controller 200.

The optical signal controller 200 is formed on the optical waveguide 120 and may be spaced apart from the structure in which the graphen support 140, the first graphene 150, and the electrode 160 are coupled.

The optical signal regulator 200 may include a second graphene 210 and electrodes 221 and 223 formed on the second graphene 210.

As shown in FIG. 3, the length of the second graphene 210 in the y-axis direction may be longer than the length of the optical waveguide 120.

The electrodes 221 and 223 are formed only on a part of the second graphene 210 and may not be formed on the area where the second graphene 210 and the optical waveguide 120 are overlapped. That is, the electrodes 221 and 223 may be formed on both sides of the second graphene 210.

The second graphene 210 may be a single layer graphene or may be composed of more than two layers of multilayer graphene.

In addition, the electrodes 221 and 223 of the optical signal control unit may be made of a conductive material.

The light 170 generated from the first graphene 150 passes through the optical waveguide 120 and the second graphene 210 of the optical signal modulator 200 formed on the optical waveguide 120 ). That is, the intensity of the light 170 changes.

Since the intensity of the light interacting with the second graphene 210 can be controlled by adjusting the chemical potential of the second graphene 210, the intensity of the output optical signal of the optical waveguide 120 can be adjusted.

4 is a view showing a configuration of an optical coupling system including a graphene light source according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the optical coupling system according to the present invention may include a plurality of sub optical coupling systems 100a, 100b, and 100c.

The plurality of sub optical coupling systems includes a first sub optical coupling system 100a, a second sub optical coupling system 100b and a third sub optical coupling system 100c, The first graphene 151, the second graphene 153, and the first graphene 155 are coupled to the substrate 110, the optical waveguide 120, the couplers 131, 133 and 135, the graphen support 140, The electrode 160 may be formed of a metal.

Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the first graphene 151 provided in the first sub optical coupling system 100a is a first sub-graphene, and the first graphene 151 provided in the second sub- The second sub-graphene 153 is referred to as a second sub-graphene, and the first graphene 155 provided in the third sub-optical coupling system 100c is referred to as a third sub-graphene.

The coupler 131 provided in the first sub optical coupling system 100a is a first coupler and the coupler 133 provided in the second sub optical coupling system 100b is a second coupler. The coupler 135 provided in the coupling system 100c is referred to as a third coupler.

4, a plurality of optical waveguides 120 are formed on a substrate 110 of the optical coupling system according to the present invention, and each of the plurality of optical waveguides 120 is connected to the first through third sub optical coupling systems 100a, 100b, 100c.

In addition, a plurality of graphen supporting portions 140 are formed on the substrate 110, and specifically, graphen supporting portions 140 are formed on both sides of each optical waveguide 120. The graphen supporting portion 140 supports the first to third sub graphenes 151, 153 and 155.

In FIG. 4, the graphen supporting portions 140 supporting the first through third sub graphenes 151, 153, and 155 are assumed to have the same height, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, at least one pair of graphene supports 140 of each of the graphen supports 140 may be formed to have a different height than the remaining graphenes 140, May all be formed to have different heights.

According to the present invention, the light generated by each of the first sub graphene 151, the second sub graphene 153, and the third sub graphene 155 may have different wavelengths, Light of different colors can be generated from the third sub graphenes 151, 153, and 155 and output.

In this case, the characteristics of the first to third sub graphenes 151, 153 and 155 themselves, the electric signals applied to the first to third sub graphenes 151, 153 and 155, It is possible to generate light having different wavelengths from the first to third sub graphenes 151, 153 and 155 by adjusting the distances between the pins 151, 153 and 155 and the substrate 110 to be different from each other. have.

The first coupler 131, the second coupler 133 and the third coupler 135 according to the present invention may have different structures. That is, the first coupler 131 is formed to be suitable for the light generated by the first sub graphene 151, and the second coupler 133 is formed to be suitable for the light generated by the second sub graphene 153 And the third coupler 135 may be formed to match the light generated by the third sub-graphenes 155.

For example, the first coupler 131 may efficiently transmit light of a wavelength of 1310 nm to the optical waveguide 120, the second coupler 133 may transmit the light of a wavelength of 1550 nm to the optical waveguide 120 efficiently, The third coupler 135 may be formed to efficiently transmit the light of the wavelength of 1580 nm to the optical waveguide 120.

That is, each of the optical waveguides of the optical coupling system according to the present invention outputs optical signals having different wavelengths, and thus can provide a Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) system.

The optical coupling system according to the present invention may be formed by combining sub optical coupling systems separated from each other, or may be integrally formed on one substrate.

Although not shown in FIG. 4, at least one of the plurality of sub optical coupling systems 100a, 100b, and 100c may further include the optical signal modulator 200 as shown in FIG.

In FIG. 4, it is assumed that three sub optical coupling systems 100a, 100b, and 100c are coupled. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the number of sub optical coupling systems may be variously changed.

Hereinafter, a method of manufacturing the optical coupling system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

5 is a view for explaining a method of manufacturing an optical coupling system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, as shown in FIG. 5A, a dielectric layer 125 is laminated on a substrate 110. The refractive index of the dielectric layer 125 may be higher than that of the substrate 110. The dielectric layer 125 may be formed of a material such as silicon, silicon nitride,

Next, as shown in FIG. 5 (b), the optical waveguide 120 can be formed by etching a part of the dielectric layer 125. The etch method for removing the remaining material while leaving only a necessary portion is well known in the art, so a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

5 (c), after the optical waveguide 120 is formed on the substrate 110, the coupler 130 may be formed on the optical waveguide 120. In this case, Specifically, a plurality of gratings may protrude from the optical waveguide 120, and the plurality of gratings may be formed of a dielectric material such as silicon.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5 (d), a graphen supporting portion 140 may be formed on a part of the substrate 110, and one on each side of the optical waveguide 120. At this time, the height of the graphen supporting portion 140 can be higher than that of the optical waveguide 120.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5 (e), the graphene 150 can be transferred onto the graphen supporting portion 140. More specifically, both sides of the graphene 150 are supported by the graphen supporting portion 140, and the graphene 150 regions except the region supported by the graphen supporting portion 140 are connected to the substrate 110, (120) and the coupler (130).

Finally, as shown in FIG. 5 (f), the electrode layer 160 may be laminated on the graphene 150. Referring to FIG. 5F, the electrode layer 160 may be formed on both sides of the graphene 150 with a predetermined interval therebetween, and the electrode layer 160 may be formed of a conductive material.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, but, on the contrary, Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.

Therefore, the spirit of the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the above-described embodiments, and all of the equivalents or equivalents of the claims, as well as the following claims, I will say.

110: substrate
120: optical waveguide
130: combiner
140: graphen support
150: Grapin
160: electrode

Claims (15)

Board;
An optical waveguide formed on the substrate;
A coupler formed on the optical waveguide; And
And a graphene light source that emits the first graphene to generate an optical signal,
And the optical signal generated from the graphene light source is transmitted to the optical waveguide through the coupler. The method according to claim 1,
The graphene light source includes:
A graphen support for supporting the first graphene such that the first graphene and the substrate are spaced apart from each other; And
And an electrode formed on at least a portion of the first graphene. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the optical signal is generated from the first graphene in response to an electrical signal applied to the electrode. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the refractive index of the optical waveguide is larger than the refractive index of the substrate. The method according to claim 1,
And an optical signal regulator formed on the optical waveguide, the optical signal regulator adjusting the intensity of the optical signal generated from the first graphene. 6. The method of claim 5,
Wherein the optical signal controller comprises:
Second graphene;
And an electrode formed on at least a portion of the second graphene. A plurality of sub optical coupling systems,
Wherein each of the plurality of sub optical coupling systems comprises:
Board;
An optical waveguide formed on the substrate;
A coupler formed on the optical waveguide; And
And a graphene light source that emits a graphene to generate an optical signal,
An optical signal generated from the graphene light source is transmitted to the optical waveguide through the coupler,
Wherein each of the plurality of sub optical coupling systems outputs an optical signal having a different wavelength. 8. The method of claim 7,
The graphene light source includes:
A graphen support for supporting the graphenes such that the graphenes and the substrate are spaced apart from each other; And
And an electrode formed on at least a portion of the graphene. 9. The method of claim 8,
Wherein each of the grapins included in the plurality of sub optical coupling systems generates optical signals having different wavelengths. 9. The method of claim 8,
Wherein the graphene light sources included in the plurality of sub optical coupling systems are supplied with different electrical signals. 8. The method of claim 7,
Wherein the plurality of sub-optical coupling systems form a wavelength division multiplexing system. 8. The method of claim 7,
Wherein at least one of the plurality of sub-
And an optical signal regulator formed on the optical waveguide and adapted to regulate an intensity of an optical signal generated from the graphene light source. Stacking a dielectric layer on the substrate;
Etching a part of the dielectric layer to form an optical waveguide;
Forming a coupler on the optical waveguide;
Forming a graphen support on a portion of the substrate;
Transferring graphene onto the graphene support; And
And forming an electrode pattern on a part of the region of the graphene. 14. The method of claim 13,
Wherein the graphen supports are formed on both sides of the optical waveguide and are formed to be higher than the height of the coupler such that the graphenes are spaced apart from the coupler. 14. The method of claim 13,
Wherein the electrode patterns are formed at both side regions of the graphenes by a predetermined distance.

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