Hyperlight Corporation

Institut National De La Recherche Scientifique

University of Glasgow

The University of Sussex

Christian Reimer

Mian Zhang

Prashanta Kharel

Kevin Luke

Roberto Morandotti

Yoann Jestin

Piotr Roztocki

Michael Kues

Benjamin Wetzel

Roy Meade

Robin Helsten

Lingyan He

David J Starling

Stefania Sciara

José Azaña

Fan Ye

Jeffrey Cole Holzgrafe

Luis Romero Cortes

Fabio Grazioso

Mehedi Islam

Miles Matthew Kovach

Bennet Fisher

Yanbing Zhang

An optical modulator that uses adiabatic tapers to change the width of the waveguides between multimode waveguides and single mode waveguides on a low-loss, e.g. thin-film lithium niobate, electro-optic platform. The architecture enables the utilization of the fundamental mode of multimode wide optical waveguides that have lower optical propagation loss without sacrificing the benefit of the signal integrity and ease of control of single mode operation.

Low-loss waveguiding structures, in particular modulators

An interface for an optical modulator and the optical modulator are described. The interface includes first and second differential line pairs. The first differential line pair has a first negative line and a first positive line arranged on opposing sides of a first waveguide. The first negative line is on a distal side of the first waveguide relative to a second waveguide. The first positive line is on a proximal side of the first waveguide relative to the second waveguide. The second differential line pair has a second negative line and a second positive line arranged on opposing sides of the second waveguide. The second negative line is on a distal side of the second waveguide relative to the first waveguide. The second positive line is on a proximal side of the second waveguide relative to the first waveguide. The first and second waveguides each include lithium niobate and/or lithium tantalate.

High performance optical modulators and drivers

An electro-optic device is described. The electro-optic device includes an electro-optic component implemented on an electro-optic material having a slab and a ridge portion. The electro-optic component includes a first portion of the slab and a portion of the ridge portion. The first portion of the slab has a first height. The ridge portion has a second height greater than the first height. A passive functionality component is implemented on a second portion of the slab and is optically coupled with the electro-optic component.

Dual height functional components in lithium niobate optical devices

An electro-optic device includes a substrate structure, a first layer, a second layer on the first layer, and a third layer on the second layer. The first layer includes a first thin film lithium-containing (TFLC) electro-optic material and having a first thickness. The second layer includes a second TFLC electro-optic material and has a second thickness. The third layer includes a third TFLC electro-optic material and having a third thickness. Electro-optic structure(s) of the electro-optic device includes the first layer, the second layer, and the third layer. In the electro-optic structure(s), the first layer has a first width, the second layer has a second width, and the third layer has a third width.

Multilayer thin film lithium-containing optical devices

An electro-optic device including a first waveguide, a second waveguide, and electrodes is described. The first waveguide includes a first thin film lithium-containing (TFLC) electro-optic material and carries a first optical signal. The second waveguide includes a second TFLC electro-optic material and carries a second optical signal. The electrodes include a differential electrode pair proximate to a portion of the first waveguide and to a portion of the second waveguide. The differential electrode pair is configured to provide a first modulation to the first optical signal and a second modulation to the second optical signal. A first magnitude of the first modulation is different from a second magnitude of the second modulation such that the electro-optic device has an engineered chirp.

Controlled chirp in optical devices

An electro-optic device is described. The electro-optic device includes a ridge waveguide and a channel waveguide. The ridge waveguide includes a first portion of at least one electro-optic material. The first portion of the electro-optic material(s) includes a slab and a ridge on the slab. The ridge has a ridge height. The slab has a slab height less than the ridge height. The channel waveguide is optically coupled with the ridge waveguide and includes a second portion of the electro-optic material(s). The channel waveguide has a channel height less than the slab height.

Mode converter

An electro-optic device is described. The electro-optic device includes at least one optical material having an electro-optic effect. Further, the optical material(s) include lithium. The optical material(s) have a slab and a ridge waveguide. The slab has a top surface. The slab includes free surfaces. Each of the free surfaces is at a nonzero angle from the top surface of the slab and mitigates stress in the slab.

Optical device configured for stress mitigation

An electro-optic device is described. The electro-optic device includes a thin film electro-optic layer including lithium and a lithium barrier structure. The thin film electro-optic layer has a plurality of surfaces. The lithium barrier structure covers at least a portion of the plurality of surfaces.

Diffusion barrier layer in lithium niobate-containing photonic devices

A velocity mismatch between optical signals and microwave electrical signals in electro-optic devices, such as modulators, may be compensated by utilizing different lengths of bends in the optical waveguides as compared to the microwave electrodes to match the velocity of the microwave signal propagating along the coplanar waveguide to the velocity of the optical signal. To ensure the electrode bends do not affect the light in the optical waveguide bends, the electrode may have to be rerouted, e.g. above or below, the optical waveguide layer. To ensure that the pair of optical waveguides have the same optical length, a waveguide crossing may be used to cross the first waveguide through the second waveguide.

Velocity matched electro-optic devices

An electro-optic device is described. The electro-optic device includes a substrate, an insulator on the substrate, an optical structure on the insulator and an electrode proximate to at least a portion of the optical structure. The substrate includes a trench region having a plurality of trenches therein. The trench region has an effective microwave index based on a substrate material and the plurality of trenches. The insulator is on the substrate. The optical structure is on the insulator. The optical structure has a thin film electro-optic layer including lithium. The electrode is proximate to a portion of the optical structure.

Thin film lithium niobate optical device having an engineered substrate for heterogeneous integration

An integrated electro-optic frequency comb generator based on ultralow loss integrated, e.g. thin-film lithium niobate, platform, which enables low power consumption comb generation spanning over a wider range of optical frequencies. The comb generator includes an intensity modulator, and at least one phase modulator, which provides a powerful technique to generate a broad high power comb, without using an optical resonator. A compact integrated electro-optic modulator based frequency comb generator, provides the benefits of integrated, e.g. lithium niobate, platform including low waveguide loss, high electro-optic modulation efficiency, small bending radius and flexible microwave design.

Integrated electro-optic frequency comb generator

An optical device including a waveguide, electrodes, and a connecting dielectric is described. The waveguide includes an electro-optic material having a waveguide optical refractive index and a waveguide microwave dielectric constant. The electrodes include a first electrode and a second electrode. The waveguide is between the first electrode and the second electrode. At least a portion of the connecting dielectric is between the waveguide and electrodes. The connecting dielectric has a microwave dielectric constant greater than the waveguide microwave dielectric constant.

High performance optical modulator

A hybrid photonics device package is described. The hybrid photonics device package includes an electro-optic integrated circuit and a photonics integrated circuit. The electro-optic integrated circuit includes an optical structure and an electrode on a first substrate. The optical structure has a thin film electro-optic layer including lithium. The photonics integrated circuit includes a second substrate and a photonics component on the second substrate. The photonics component and the optical structure are optically coupled. One of the electro-optic integrated circuit and the photonics integrated circuit is mounted on an other of the electro-optic integrated circuit and the photonics integrated circuit.

Thin film lithium niobate hybrid photonics packaging

An optical device configured to be coupled with an optical fiber is described. The optical device includes a waveguide, a low-confinement waveguide, and a low-confinement layer. The waveguide includes a high-confinement waveguide, which has a first index of refraction. The low-confinement waveguide is optically coupled with the high-confinement waveguide. At least a portion of the low-confinement waveguide has a second index of refraction less than the first index of refraction. The low-confinement waveguide has a thickness of at least a mode diameter in a portion of the optical fiber. The low-confinement layer is adjacent to a portion of the low-confinement waveguide. The low-confinement layer has a third index of refraction less than the second index of refraction.

Growing community of inventors

Brookline, MA, United States of America

Christian Reimer