WO1994007178A1 - Integrated tunable optical filter - Google Patents
Integrated tunable optical filter Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- WO1994007178A1 WO1994007178A1 PCT/BE1993/000061 BE9300061W WO9407178A1 WO 1994007178 A1 WO1994007178 A1 WO 1994007178A1 BE 9300061 W BE9300061 W BE 9300061W WO 9407178 A1 WO9407178 A1 WO 9407178A1
- Authority
- WO
- WIPO (PCT)
- Prior art keywords
- section
- optical filter
- waveguide
- filter according
- wavelength
- Prior art date
Links
Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G02—OPTICS
- G02F—OPTICAL DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE CONTROL OF LIGHT BY MODIFICATION OF THE OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF THE MEDIA OF THE ELEMENTS INVOLVED THEREIN; NON-LINEAR OPTICS; FREQUENCY-CHANGING OF LIGHT; OPTICAL LOGIC ELEMENTS; OPTICAL ANALOGUE/DIGITAL CONVERTERS
- G02F1/00—Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics
- G02F1/29—Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics for the control of the position or the direction of light beams, i.e. deflection
- G02F1/31—Digital deflection, i.e. optical switching
- G02F1/313—Digital deflection, i.e. optical switching in an optical waveguide structure
- G02F1/3132—Digital deflection, i.e. optical switching in an optical waveguide structure of directional coupler type
- G02F1/3133—Digital deflection, i.e. optical switching in an optical waveguide structure of directional coupler type the optical waveguides being made of semiconducting materials
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G02—OPTICS
- G02F—OPTICAL DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE CONTROL OF LIGHT BY MODIFICATION OF THE OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF THE MEDIA OF THE ELEMENTS INVOLVED THEREIN; NON-LINEAR OPTICS; FREQUENCY-CHANGING OF LIGHT; OPTICAL LOGIC ELEMENTS; OPTICAL ANALOGUE/DIGITAL CONVERTERS
- G02F2201/00—Constructional arrangements not provided for in groups G02F1/00 - G02F7/00
- G02F2201/30—Constructional arrangements not provided for in groups G02F1/00 - G02F7/00 grating
- G02F2201/307—Reflective grating, i.e. Bragg grating
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G02—OPTICS
- G02F—OPTICAL DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE CONTROL OF LIGHT BY MODIFICATION OF THE OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF THE MEDIA OF THE ELEMENTS INVOLVED THEREIN; NON-LINEAR OPTICS; FREQUENCY-CHANGING OF LIGHT; OPTICAL LOGIC ELEMENTS; OPTICAL ANALOGUE/DIGITAL CONVERTERS
- G02F2203/00—Function characteristic
- G02F2203/05—Function characteristic wavelength dependent
- G02F2203/055—Function characteristic wavelength dependent wavelength filtering
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01S—DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
- H01S5/00—Semiconductor lasers
- H01S5/10—Construction or shape of the optical resonator, e.g. extended or external cavity, coupled cavities, bent-guide, varying width, thickness or composition of the active region
- H01S5/1028—Coupling to elements in the cavity, e.g. coupling to waveguides adjacent the active region, e.g. forward coupled [DFC] structures
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01S—DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
- H01S5/00—Semiconductor lasers
- H01S5/10—Construction or shape of the optical resonator, e.g. extended or external cavity, coupled cavities, bent-guide, varying width, thickness or composition of the active region
- H01S5/1028—Coupling to elements in the cavity, e.g. coupling to waveguides adjacent the active region, e.g. forward coupled [DFC] structures
- H01S5/1032—Coupling to elements comprising an optical axis that is not aligned with the optical axis of the active region
- H01S5/1035—Forward coupled structures [DFC]
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01S—DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
- H01S5/00—Semiconductor lasers
- H01S5/10—Construction or shape of the optical resonator, e.g. extended or external cavity, coupled cavities, bent-guide, varying width, thickness or composition of the active region
- H01S5/12—Construction or shape of the optical resonator, e.g. extended or external cavity, coupled cavities, bent-guide, varying width, thickness or composition of the active region the resonator having a periodic structure, e.g. in distributed feedback [DFB] lasers
- H01S5/1206—Construction or shape of the optical resonator, e.g. extended or external cavity, coupled cavities, bent-guide, varying width, thickness or composition of the active region the resonator having a periodic structure, e.g. in distributed feedback [DFB] lasers having a non constant or multiplicity of periods
- H01S5/1209—Sampled grating
Definitions
- the invention relates to an integrated broadly tunable optical filter designed, in particular, for advanced WDM (Wavelength Division Multiplexing) appli ⁇ cations as well as for use in spectroscopic testing of various optical components.
- WDM Widelength Division Multiplexing
- Broadly tunable optical filters are key com ⁇ ponents in optical communication systems. Two objectives dominate with such filters. The aims, on the one hand, are a broad tunable range and, on the other hand, high spectral selectivity. The planar integrated structures known hitherto, however, permit only one of these objec ⁇ tives at a time to be met.
- a conventional filter structure known as co- directional coupler structure, is described in "Broadly tunable InGaAsP/InP buried rib waveguide vertical coupler filter" (R.C. Alferness, L.L. Buhl, U. Koren, B.I. Miller, M.G. Young, T.L. Koch, G.A. Burrus, G.
- This conven ⁇ tional structure consists of two asymmetrical waveguides having different effective refractive indices.
- the optical signal launched into the uppermost waveguide is launched into the lowermost waveguide and selectively reflected towards the uppermost waveguide. If the para ⁇ meters of the waveguides are chosen carefully, a struc ⁇ ture of this type can act as a selective filter.
- a semiconductor optical structure which can provide high selec ⁇ tivity.
- This conventional structure makes use of a waveguide having a grating grown thereon, that grating of which is periodically omitted.
- a structure of this type has already been used in a tunable laser (V. Jayaraman, D.A. Cohen, L.A. Coldren, "Demonstration of broadband tunability in a semiconductor laser using sampled gratings", Appl. Phys. Lett 60(19), 11 May 1992) .
- a structure of this type has hitherto not been used in a filter structure.
- This conventional structure provides a comb- shaped reflection spectrum.
- the parameters thereof are the spacing between the peaks, the spectral bandwidth of the envelope of the comb spectrum, the peak maximums and the bandwidth of a reflection peak.
- the latter is pro ⁇ bably the most important parameter, because it affects the selectivity of the structure. Most unfortunately, this parameter too limits the tuning range of the structure.
- the object of the present invention is to present an optical filter structure which provides, at the same time, a large tuning range and high spectral selectivity in a compact integrated appliance.
- the present invention makes provision for an integrated optical filter which comprises a semiconductor substrate having a common electrode on a first side thereof, the substrate comprising a first waveguide on which a grating is grown, said grating comprising a first part having a large period and a second part having a small period, from which said grating is periodically omitted.
- a second waveguide extends in such a way that there is formed, in a first section of the substrate, a codirectional coupler section. Said second waveguide is covered by a semiconductor part whose topside carries a second electrode.
- a third electrode Provided on the topside of the substrate at the top of the second grating section there is a third electrode.
- the refractive indices of both waveguides in the first section are controlled by current injection along said second electrode.
- the refractive index of the waveguide in the second section is controlled by current injection along said third electrode.
- Figure 1 diagrammatically represents a cross section of the structure according to the invention
- Figures 2 to 6 inclusive represent curves, by way of example, which illustrate the operation of the filter structure of Figure 1.
- FIG. 1 shows an optical filter structure according to the invention.
- the integrated filter struc ⁇ ture mainly comprises a substrate 1 made of semiconductor material, for example InP, in which two sections 2 and 3 are formed.
- a number of layers are grown from semiconductor material, for example InGaAsP, which form the lowermost waveguide 4 having a grating 40 grown thereon.
- Said grating 40 is grown so as to have two different geometrical structures, namely a first rib- shaped structure 41 having a long period in said first section 2, and a second periodically broken sawtooth- shaped or stripe-shaped structure 42 in said second section 3.
- the lastmentioned sawtooth-shaped structure 42 is formed so as to have short-period striped regions 43 and alternating non-striped regions 44.
- Typical values for the period of the rib-shaped structure range between 10 and 50 ⁇ , inclusive.
- Typical values for the period of the sawtooth-shaped structure are below 1 ⁇ m.
- an uppermost waveguide 5 extends in such a way that there is formed, in the first second 2 of the substrate, a codirectional coupler section.
- a first electrode 6 On the topside of the first section 2 there is provided a first electrode 6, by means of which current injection can be coupled in into said first section.
- a second electrode 7 On the topside of the second section 3, too, a second electrode 7 is provided by means of which current injection can be coupled in into said second section.
- a common back electrode 8 is provided on the underside of the substrate.
- An appliance according to the invention works as follows.
- An optical signal is passed into the uppermost waveguide 5, and at a certain wavelength ⁇ , 100 % of the optical power is coupled across to the lowermost waveguide 4.
- the spectral bandwidth of the codirectional coupler in section 2 is determined by the length L codir of said section 2, the period of the rib-shaped structure 41 and the effective refractive indices n a and n b of the two waveguides 5 and 4, respectively, according to the following relationship:
- Said coupled wavelength can be altered by varying the refractive indices n a and n b based on current injec ⁇ tion by applying a voltage between electrodes 6 and 8.
- Figure 2 represents an example of a filter response A of a codirectional coupler
- Figure 3 represents the same filter response A', but shifted in wavelength by current injection. It should be noted that the filter response in section 2 has a low selectivity.
- the optical signal which was coupled to the lowermost waveguide 4 ends up in the broken sawtooth- shaped structure 42.
- the reflection spectrum of said structure is comb-shaped as shown by B in Figure 4, together with the filter response of the first section.
- the reflection peaks of the comb spectrum have a high selectivity.
- the selectivity is mainly determined by the number of periods in the broken structure 42 and the coupling strength of that structure.
- the reflection peaks of the comb spectrum B can be changed slightly by current injection in said section when a voltage is applied between electrodes 7 and 8.
- the comb spectrum is slightly shifted in wavelength as shown by B' in Figure 5.
- the wavelength of one of the reflection peaks corresponds to the central coupling wavelength of the first section 2.
- the parameters of the two sections 2 and 3 cannot be chosen totally independently of one another, but must satisfy at least the following condition.
- This condition establishes a relationship between the spectral bandwidth of the codirectional coupler and the spacing between the peaks in the comb spectrum of section 3. This bandwidth must be smaller than the spacing between the peaks: ⁇ 2
- ⁇ 3dB ⁇ 2 n(L j + L 2 )
- ⁇ 3dB is the spectral bandwidth of the codirectional coupler
- ⁇ is the wavelength
- ⁇ is the period of the rib-shaped structure in the first section
- L cod i r is the length of the first section
- n b are the effective refractive indices of the two waveguides in the first section
- Lj is the length of the sawtooth-shaped structure grating in one period of the second section
- L 2 is the length of the non-striped portion of the grating structure in one period of the second section
- n is the effective refractive index of the waveguide in the second section.
- the tuning range is determined by both sections and is no greater than the maximum of two variables, namely ⁇ x , the tuning range of the codirectional structure, and ⁇ 2 , the spectral bandwidth of the envelope of the comb spectrum at the second section 3.
Landscapes
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Nonlinear Science (AREA)
- General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Optics & Photonics (AREA)
- Optical Integrated Circuits (AREA)
- Semiconductor Lasers (AREA)
- Lasers (AREA)
Abstract
Description
Claims
Priority Applications (3)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
EP93918815A EP0613571B1 (en) | 1992-09-24 | 1993-09-17 | Integrated tunable optical filter |
DE69320022T DE69320022T2 (en) | 1992-09-24 | 1993-09-17 | INTEGRATED TUNABLE OPTICAL FILTER |
JP50761594A JP3185930B2 (en) | 1992-09-24 | 1993-09-17 | Integrated tunable optical filter |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
BE9200838A BE1006207A3 (en) | 1992-09-24 | 1992-09-24 | INTEGRATED tunable optical FILTER. |
BE9200838 | 1992-09-24 |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
WO1994007178A1 true WO1994007178A1 (en) | 1994-03-31 |
Family
ID=3886455
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/BE1993/000061 WO1994007178A1 (en) | 1992-09-24 | 1993-09-17 | Integrated tunable optical filter |
Country Status (7)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | USRE36710E (en) |
EP (1) | EP0613571B1 (en) |
JP (1) | JP3185930B2 (en) |
AT (1) | ATE169127T1 (en) |
BE (1) | BE1006207A3 (en) |
DE (1) | DE69320022T2 (en) |
WO (1) | WO1994007178A1 (en) |
Cited By (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US6674929B2 (en) * | 2001-06-01 | 2004-01-06 | Lightcross, Inc. | Tunable optical filter |
US6810168B1 (en) | 2002-05-30 | 2004-10-26 | Kotura, Inc. | Tunable add/drop node |
Families Citing this family (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
SE0100611L (en) | 2001-02-22 | 2002-08-23 | Altitun Ab | A method of loss compensating a tunable filter for a laser, as well as such a filter |
SE518476C2 (en) | 2001-02-22 | 2002-10-15 | Altitun Ab | Method for improving the selectivity of a tunable waveguide filter |
US7653093B2 (en) * | 2001-09-10 | 2010-01-26 | Imec | Widely tunable twin guide laser structure |
US7023886B2 (en) | 2001-11-08 | 2006-04-04 | Intel Corporation | Wavelength tunable optical components |
Citations (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
JPH0479287A (en) * | 1990-07-20 | 1992-03-12 | Canon Inc | Wavelength variable semiconductor laser |
Family Cites Families (8)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
JPS60260024A (en) * | 1984-06-07 | 1985-12-23 | Kokusai Denshin Denwa Co Ltd <Kdd> | Optical modulating element |
JP2659199B2 (en) * | 1987-11-11 | 1997-09-30 | 日本電気株式会社 | Tunable wavelength filter |
US5147825A (en) * | 1988-08-26 | 1992-09-15 | Bell Telephone Laboratories, Inc. | Photonic-integrated-circuit fabrication process |
US5220573A (en) * | 1989-03-10 | 1993-06-15 | Canon Kabushiki Kaisha | Optical apparatus using wavelength selective photocoupler |
JPH04138427A (en) * | 1990-09-28 | 1992-05-12 | Oki Electric Ind Co Ltd | Optical wavelength filter device |
US5253314A (en) * | 1992-01-31 | 1993-10-12 | At&T Bell Laboratories | Tunable optical waveguide coupler |
US5325392A (en) * | 1992-03-06 | 1994-06-28 | Nippon Telegraph And Telephone Corporation | Distributed reflector and wavelength-tunable semiconductor laser |
SE470454B (en) * | 1992-08-26 | 1994-04-11 | Ericsson Telefon Ab L M | Optical filter device |
-
1992
- 1992-09-24 BE BE9200838A patent/BE1006207A3/en not_active IP Right Cessation
-
1993
- 1993-09-17 AT AT93918815T patent/ATE169127T1/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 1993-09-17 JP JP50761594A patent/JP3185930B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1993-09-17 WO PCT/BE1993/000061 patent/WO1994007178A1/en active IP Right Grant
- 1993-09-17 EP EP93918815A patent/EP0613571B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1993-09-17 DE DE69320022T patent/DE69320022T2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
-
1998
- 1998-07-17 US US09/118,474 patent/USRE36710E/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
Patent Citations (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
JPH0479287A (en) * | 1990-07-20 | 1992-03-12 | Canon Inc | Wavelength variable semiconductor laser |
Non-Patent Citations (6)
Title |
---|
J.WILLEMS & AL: "NOVEL WIDELY TUNABLE INTEGRATED OPTICAL FILTER WITH HIGH SPECTRAL SELECTIVITY", 18TH EUROPEAN CONFERENCE ON OPTICAL COMMUNICATION, vol. 1, 27 September 1992 (1992-09-27), BERLIN DE, pages 413 - 416 * |
N.A. OLSSON: "PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS OF A ......", IEEE JOURNAL OF QUANTUM ELECTRONICS., vol. 24, no. 2, February 1988 (1988-02-01), NEW YORK US, pages 143 - 147 * |
PATENT ABSTRACTS OF JAPAN vol. 016, no. 297 (E - 1226) 30 June 1992 (1992-06-30) * |
R.C.ALFERNESS & ALL: "BROADLY TUNEBLE INGAASP/INP BURIED RIB WAVEGUIDE VERTICAL COUPLER FILTER", APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS., vol. 60, no. 8, February 1992 (1992-02-01), NEW YORK US, pages 980 - 982 * |
T.HIRATA: "MONOLITHIC RESONANT OPTICAL REFLECTOR LASER DIODES", ELECTRONICS LETTERS., vol. 27, no. 22, October 1991 (1991-10-01), ENAGE GB, pages 2050 - 2051 * |
V.JAYARAMAN & ALL: "DEMONSTRATION OF BROADBAND TUNABILITY IN A SEMICONDUCTOR LASER USING SAMPLED GRATINGS", APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS., vol. 60, no. 19, 11 May 1992 (1992-05-11), NEW YORK US, pages 2321 - 2323 * |
Cited By (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US6674929B2 (en) * | 2001-06-01 | 2004-01-06 | Lightcross, Inc. | Tunable optical filter |
US6810168B1 (en) | 2002-05-30 | 2004-10-26 | Kotura, Inc. | Tunable add/drop node |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
JP3185930B2 (en) | 2001-07-11 |
USRE36710E (en) | 2000-05-23 |
EP0613571A1 (en) | 1994-09-07 |
DE69320022T2 (en) | 1999-03-25 |
DE69320022D1 (en) | 1998-09-03 |
BE1006207A3 (en) | 1994-06-07 |
ATE169127T1 (en) | 1998-08-15 |
EP0613571B1 (en) | 1998-07-29 |
JPH07501628A (en) | 1995-02-16 |
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