California Institute of Technology

Hughes Aircraft Company

Arroyo Optics, Inc.

Telaris Inc.

Accuwave Corporation

Ortel Corporation

USA as Represented by Secretary of the Navy

The United States of America as Represented by the Administrator of the

Amnon Yariv

George A Rakuljic

Anthony Stephen Kewitsch

Shlomo Margalit

Aharon J Agranat

Charles F Neugebauer

Axel Scherer

Naresh Satyan

John O'Brien

Arseny Vasilyev

Victor Leyva

Joseph Katz

Jakob J Vanzyl

Shervin Taghavi-Larigani

Christos T Santis

Rudolf Hofmeister

Yuanjian Xu

Henry A Blauvelt

Oskar Jon Painter

Yong Xu

Chien-Ping Lee

Sze-Keung Kwong

Koichi Sayano

Reginald Lee

John S Frame

David B Huff

Charles E Tyler

Christopher P Lindsey

Gert Cauwenberghs

Scott T Steger

Aharon Agranat

Yaakov Shevy

Dan Provenzano

Volnei A Pedroni

Hsi-Chun Liu

Boaz Salik

Kerry J Vahala

Robert J Lang

Gregory L Tangonan

Richard C Flagan

Richard L Abrams

Hugh L Garvin

Robert G Hunsperger

Eva Peral

Israel Ury

Victor Wang

William K Marshall

Arthur Bruce O'Connor

Kam-Yin Lau

Mark Cronin-Golomb

John OBrien

Liew-Chuang Chiu

Seiji Mukai

Joseph Salzman

Charles T Neugebauer

Zeev Rav-Noy

Elyahou Kapon

Kazuo Kyuma

Jacob Scheuer

Haila Wang

Chuan-cheng Cheng

Mordechai Segev

Philip Platzman

John S Smith

Eli Kapon

Joseph Rosen

Gilad Almogy

Harold Everett Miller, Jr

Xiaoping Mao

Harold M Stoll

Jason Gamba

Sasson Somekh

Harry V Winsor

Chaun-cheng Cheng

Christoph Harder

Jacob Sendowski

Jeffrey O White

Baruch Fischer

The optical mode of a photonic device is coupled between a first region made of a semiconducting material, and a second region made of a dielectric material. Photons are generated within the first region, while the optical mode is predominantly stored within the second region. The thickness of the first region and its width are controlled to determine its effective refractive index, enabling control of the optical mode.

Guiding and confining of electromagnetic modes in low-index materials

A laser resonator includes an active material, which amplifies light associated with an optical gain of the resonator, and passive materials disposed in proximity with the active material. The resonator oscillates over one or more optical modes, each of which corresponds to a particular spatial energy distribution and resonant frequency. Based on a characteristic of the passive materials, for the particular spatial energy distribution corresponding to at least one of the optical modes, a preponderant portion of optical energy is distributed apart from the active material. The passive materials may include a low loss material, which stores the preponderant optical energy portion distributed apart from the active material, and a buffer material disposed between the low loss material and the active material, which controls a ratio of the optical energy stored in the low loss material to a portion of the optical energy in the active material. A Vernier grating and tuning mechanism can be used to tune the low-noise laser.

High-coherence semiconductor light sources

A laser resonator includes an active material, which amplifies light associated with an optical gain of the resonator, and passive materials disposed in proximity with the active material. The resonator oscillates over one or more optical modes, each of which corresponds to a particular spatial energy distribution and resonant frequency. Based on a characteristic of the passive materials, for the particular spatial energy distribution corresponding to at least one of the optical modes, a preponderant portion of optical energy is distributed apart from the active material. The passive materials may include a low loss material, which stores the preponderant optical energy portion distributed apart from the active material, and a buffer material disposed between the low loss material and the active material, which controls a ratio of the optical energy stored in the low loss material to a portion of the optical energy in the active material.

A detection apparatus and method for FMCW LIDAR employ signals whose frequencies are modified so that low-cost and low-speed photodetector arrays, such as CCD or CMOS cameras, can be employed for range detection. The LIDAR is designed to measure the range z to a target and includes a single mode swept frequency laser (SFL), whose optical frequency is varied with time, as a result of which, a target beam which is reflected back by the target is shifted in frequency from a reference beam by an amount that is proportional to the relative range z to the target. The reflected target beam is combined with the reference beam and detected by the photodetector array. By first modulating at least one of the target and reference beams such that the difference between the frequencies of the reflected target beam and the reference beam is reduced to a level that is within the bandwidth of the photodetector array, the need for high-speed detector arrays for full-field imaging is obviated.

Three-dimensional tomographic imaging camera

A detection apparatus and method for FMCW LIDAR employ signals that are modified so that low-cost and low-speed photodetector arrays, such as CCD or CMOS cameras, can be employed for range detection. The LIDAR is designed to measure the range to one or more targets and includes a single mode swept frequency laser (SFL), whose optical frequency is varied with time, as a result of which, a target beam which is reflected back by the one or more targets is shifted in frequency from a reference beam by an amount that is proportional to the relative range to the one or more targets. The reflected target beam(s) is/are combined with the reference beam and detected by the photodetector array. In the case of a sparse number of targets to be detected, Compressive Sensing (CS) techniques can be employed by a processor to reduce the number of measurements necessary to determine the range of each target.

Three-dimensional tomographic imaging camera based on compressive sensing

Coupled-resonator optical waveguides (CROW) can be used to control a speed of an optical signal. In particular, the coupling distance between the resonators can be adjusted to precisely control a group delay of an optical wave. Systems and methods are described to control such coupling distance in a CROW.

Methods and systems for delaying optical waves

This invention relates to opto-electronic systems using semiconductor lasers driven by optical phase-locked loops that control the laser's optical phase and frequency. Feedback control provides a means for precise, wideband control of optical frequency and phase, augmented further by four wave mixing stages and digitally stitched independent optical waveforms for enhanced tunability.

Arbitrary optical waveform generation utilizing optical phase-locked loops

An optoelectronic swept-frequency semiconductor laser coupled to a microfabricated optical biomolecular sensor with integrated resonator and waveguide and methods related thereto are described. Biomolecular sensors with optical resonator microfabricated with integrated waveguide operation can be in a microfluidic flow cell.

Swept-frequency semiconductor laser coupled to microfabricated biomolecular sensor and methods related thereto

The invention discloses a semi-ring Fabry-Perot (SRFP) optical resonator structure comprising a medium including an edge forming a reflective facet and a waveguide within the medium, the waveguide having opposing ends formed by the reflective facet. The performance of the SRFP resonator can be further enhanced by including a Mach-Zehnder interferometer in the waveguide on one side of the gain medium. The optical resonator can be employed in a variety of optical devices. Laser structures using at least one SRFP resonator are disclosed where the resonators are disposed on opposite sides of a gain medium. Other laser structures employing one or more resonators on one side of a gain region are also disclosed.

Optical resonator

A resonator structure is presented comprising a closed loop resonator having a distributed Bragg reflector for confining the light within the guiding core. In one embodiment the light is confined from both the internal and the external sides of the device forming a guiding channel (defect) or just by the external side forming a disk resonator. Although the perfectly circular shape is generally preferred, the resonator could be of any closed loop shape such as an ellipse, etc. Although not mentioned explicitly throughout the text, the Bragg reflectors can of any type of distributed reflector such as, for example, a photonic bandgap crystal where the Bragg reflector is constructed by series of holes in a dielectric material. The resonator structure can be used in various applications, such as optical filters, lasers, modulators, spectrum analyzers, wavelockers, interleave filters, and optical add drop multiplexers.

Radial Bragg ring resonator

Tunable semiconductor lasers are disclosed requiring minimized coupling regions. Multiple laser embodiments employ ring resonators or ring resonator pairs using only a single coupling region with the gain medium are detailed. Tuning can be performed by changing the phase of the coupling coefficient between the gain medium and a ring resonator of the laser. Another embodiment provides a tunable laser including two Mach-Zehnder interferometers in series and a reflector coupled to a gain medium.

Tunable semiconductor lasers

Optical resonator and laser applications

A transverse Bragg resonance waveguide is comprised of a waveguiding channel, and on at least two opposing sides of the channel two periodic index media; and a means for providing gain in the periodic index media. In one embodiment the waveguiding channel is planar and is sandwiched on two opposing sides by the periodic index media. In another embodiment the waveguiding channel is cylindrical and is surrounded by the periodic index media. The means for providing gain in the periodic index media is electrical or optical pumping. The periodic index media comprises a periodic lattice of regions having an index of refraction distinct from the channel, such as an array of transverse holes defined in a planar semiconductor substrate in which the channel is also defined, or an array of longitudinal holes defined in a cylindrical semiconductor fiber in which the channel is also longitudinally defined.

Traverse Bragg resonance lasers and amplifiers and method of operating the same

An optical wave power control device and method enables signal control, such as modulation and switching, to be effected within an uninterrupted propagation element, e.g. an optical fiber or planar waveguide. The propagation element is configured such that a portion of its wave guided power encompasses the exterior surface of the element, intercepting the periphery of an adjacent high Q volumetric resonator. Power of a chosen resonant wavelength is coupled into the resonator, where it circulates with very low loss in accordance with the principles of a whispering gallery mode device, and returns energy to the propagation element. By introducing loss within the resonator, the propagated power can be varied between substantially full and substantially zero amplitudes. Loss factors can be maintained such that the resonator is overcoupled, i.e. parasitic losses are less than coupling losses, and a critical coupling condition exists in which a small swing in the control effect causes a disproportionate change in the optical output signal.

Resonant optical wave power control devices and methods

Growing community of inventors

Pasadena, CA, United States of America

Amnon Yariv