Lucent Technologies Inc.

Agere Systems Guardian Corp.

Agere Systems Inc.

Fitel USA Corporation

David Wilfred Johnson

Debra Anne Fleming

John Thomson, Jr

Suhas Dattatreya Bhandarkar

Paul Joseph Lemaire

Sungho Jin

John Burnette MacChesney

Glen Robert Kowach

Vincent George Lambrecht, Jr

Edwin Arthur Chandross

David A Norte

Henry Hon Law

Thomas Edward Stockert

Gideon S Grader

Wei Zhu

Thomas H Tiefel

Robert Bruce Van Dover

John Edwin Graebner

Eliezer M Rabinovich

Apurba Roy

Gideon Grader

Michael Philip Bohrer

Frederick W Walz, Jr

Philip J Hubbauer

Thomas Henry Tiefel, Deceased

John C Alonzo

Henry Du

Deok-Yang Kim

Honghua Du

David Joseph Liptack

Silica sol techniques are described for making thick silica or silica based films useful for planar optical waveguides. The process involves coating of a colloidal silica sol onto a substrate, drying the sol, and consolidating the dried sol to form the planar waveguide. Coating is performed in a simple operation, either by dipping, or preferably by spin coating. In a preferred embodiment the substrate is coated with a wetting agent prior to spin coating. It is found that the wetting agent substantially improves the thickness uniformity of the layer. Thick waveguide layers may be produced by repeating the coating process one or more times to produce a layer with the desired thickness. Buried waveguides are produced by forming a doped core layer, patterning the doped core layer and using the coating technique of the invention to form the cladding material.

Manufacture of planar waveguides using sol-gel techniques

A ferrite layer formation process that may be performed at a lower temperature than conventional ferrite formation processes. The formation process may produce highly anisotropic structures. A ferrite layer is deposited on a substrate while the substrate is exposed to a magnetic field. An intermediate layer may be positioned between the substrate and the ferrite to promote bonding of the ferrite to the substrate. The process may be performed at temperatures less than 300&deg; C. Ferrite film anisotropy may be achieved by embodiments of the invention in the range of about 1000 dyn-cm/cm to about 2&times;10 dyn-cm/cm .

Ferrite film formation method

A silica sol-gel fabrication process is provided which allows improved control of the shrinkage that takes place during the drying of a gel body. In particular, the invention makes it possible to attain extremely low shrinkage through the completion of the drying stage, e.g., below 1% linear shrinkage, in relatively large sol-gel bodies of (dry weight) 1 kg or more, typically 10 kg or more, or even 40 kg or more, compared to the much higher shrinkages typically encountered. Specifically, use of a particular polymeric additive makes it possible for a gel body to experience linear shrinkage at least 55% less than an identical process without the polymeric additive.

Process for fabricating sol-gel article involving low-shrinkage formulation

Ceramic monoliths are described which exhibit tunable coefficients of thermal expansion from about &minus;5 to &minus;11&times;10 &deg; C. near ambient temperatures. These two-phase ceramics, which are fabricated, for example, by reactive sintering of WO and ZrO , consists of a matrix of ZrW O with inclusions of ZrO having diameters less than 10 &mgr;m. Additives may increase the density of the monoliths to greater than 98% of the calculated density. Green body densities, pre-sintered particle size distribution, sintering atmosphere, microstructure, and mechanical properties are discussed. These ceramics may be used as substrates for thermally compensating fiber Bragg gratings.

Process for making isotropic negative thermal expansion ceramics

A silica-water dispersion suitable for use as a sol for sol-gel fabrication is produced from a silica-water mixture with addition of alkaline agent. The agent functions to increase viscosity so as to improve dispersing efficiency during shear mixing.

Process entailing sol-gel production of silica glass

Silica sols exhibiting desirable yield-dilatancy are fabricated. A mixture comprising silica, water, and a pH-adjusting agent is provided, and the mixture is shear-mixed. The desirable properties of the resultant sol are attained by using a concentration of pH-adjusting agent that provides a viscosity within a particular range during shear mixing. The requisite pH range, however, changes depending on the properties of the silica mixture. A discovered technique for determining this changing pH range is by selecting the pH based on the silica surface area per unit volume of the mixture.

Processing entailing sol-gel fabrication of silica glass

Ceramic monoliths are described which exhibit tunable coefficients of thermal expansion from about &minus;5 to &minus;11&times;10,&deg; C.,near ambient temperatures. These two-phase ceramics, which are fabricated, for example, by reactive sintering of WO,and ZrO,, consists of a matrix of ZrW,O,with inclusions of ZrO,having diameters less than 10 &mgr;m. Additives may increase the density of the monoliths to greater than 98% of the calculated density. Green body densities, pre-sintered particle size distribution, sintering atmosphere, microstructure, and mechanical properties are discussed. These ceramics may be used as substrates for thermally compensating fiber Bragg gratings.

Isotropic negative thermal expansion cermics and process for making

The invention provides a device comprising an oriented, perovskite PZT layer on a diamond substrate, or other substrates such as silicon or platinum-coated materials. Vapor phase deposition processes are used to deposit a PZT layer onto a perovskite template layer on the substrate. The template layer is more readily deposited in a perovskite structure compared to PZT, and provides for nucleation and growth of the deposited PZT in perovskite form. The vapor phase deposition promotes the oriented structure of the resulting film. The structure is useful in a variety of devices, including surface acoustic wave devices.

Process for fabricating device comprising lead zirconate titanate

The invention provides an improved process for fabricating devices containing metallized magnetic ceramic material, such as inductors, transformers, and magnetic substrates. In particular, the unique vias utilized in the process of the invention allow fabrication of devices from multiple unfired ferrite layers with only a single via-coating step, thereby avoiding the need numerous punching steps. Moreover, there is no need for expanding the dimensions of the vias and thus no need for internal metallization. The invention therefore provides for green tape-type fabrication of devices such as inductors, transformers, and magnetic substrates in a manner faster, less complex, and more reliable than current methods. The invention also relates to use of an improved conductive material in such a process, the conductive material containing silver/palladium particles, ferrite particles, a cellulose-based or other organic binder, and a solvent. After firing of the substrate onto which the ink has been coated, and plating of copper thereon by a copper pyrophosphate bath, the plated copper exhibits a pull strength greater than about 4 kpsi, advantageously greater than about 5 kpsi. Use of a copper pyrophosphate bath also allow uniform plating within long, narrow vias.

Process for forming device comprising metallized magnetic substrates

The invention is a sol-gel extrusion process which allows fabrication of both thick and thin wall tubes. For example, the process is capable of preparing silica overcladding tubes in a manner easier than sol-gel casting processes, and also capable of preparing relatively thin substrate tubes, which are difficult to cast. According to the invention, a silica dispersion containing a stabilizing agent is provided, a gelling agent is added to the dispersion to induce gellation, and the resultant gel is extruded into a silica body, in the substantial absence of polymeric material from the gel. Substantially avoiding the inclusion of such polymeric material in overcladding and substrate tubes offers significant commercial advantages by reducing the time and energy required to remove organic materials from the tube bodies, by reducing environmental impact, and by reducing the amount of impurities introduced in the tubes.

Process for fabricating silica article utilizing sol-gel extrusion

A tunable fiber grating comprises a temperature-sensitive body secured to a fiber having a fiber grating region for transmitting thermally-induced strain to the grating. The amount of strain and hence the degree of wavelength tuning are controlled by adjusting the temperature of the temperature-sensitive body, wherein the extent of adjustment is preferably pre-determined according to feedback from a wavelength detector. Large thermal strains obtainable with the present invention allow a wide range of wavelength tuning with a relatively small and convenient temperature change near ambient temperature. In a preferred embodiment, the temperature-sensitive body is cylindrical and comprised of a nickel-titanium alloy bonded to the grating. In alternative arrangements, the thermal strain effect can be amplified. An add/drop multiplexer employing the tunable gratings is also described.

Device for tuning wavelength response of an optical fiber grating

A method for forming a dielectric oxide layer on selected areas of a substrate is disclosed. The dielectric oxide layer is formed on selected areas of the substrate using a sol process. The substrate has an area of a first material and an area of a second material which is different from the first. The first material is coated with a layer of a first compound. The layer of the first compound has a hydrophobic top surface. The second material is coated with a layer of a second compound. The layer of the second compound has a hydrophilic top surface. A layer of hydrous oxide is formed over the second compound by applying an aqueous sol solution on the surface of the substrate. The substrate is then heated to remove the first compound and the second compound from the surface of the substrate. Thereafter, the substrate with the layer of hydrous oxide thereon, is sintered to form the dielectric oxide layer.

Process for forming patterned dielectric oxide films

Cracking in thin sheets of sol-gel-produced material is avoided by use of a support liquid during gelation and drying. Silica glass, as well as other glass and ceramic bodies, is contemplated.

Fabrication including sol-gel float processing

An inductor (100) optimized for surface-mount vacuum-pickup automated circuit assembly eliminates the expense of an inductor housing. The inductor has a hollow rectangular ferrite core (101) and a winding defined by a stripline (102) deposited on the core surface. Winding ends are formed by conductive vias (103) in the core that open onto the core surface, where they connect and mount the inductor to a circuit board (150). A flat sheet (104) adhered to one face of the core provides a surface for vacuum pickup and for labeling of the inductor. The core of a passively tuneable inductor (200) defines multiple unconnected winding segments (102-103). Segment ends mount the inductor to the circuit board and connect the segments to circuit board striplines (254) that are laid out in a pattern to interconnect a number of the segments into a winding. The inductor is tuned by changing the stripline layout and thereby varying the number of interconnected segments. The core of an electromagnetic interference choke (300) defines two windings wound axially in parallel and radially in opposite directions. The core of a choke (500) that permits stacked mounting defines additional conductive vias (503) for connecting the windings of a second choke (300) mounted on the core to the circuit board. For electromagnetic isolation, the windings of the two chokes are oriented orthogonally to each other.

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Bedminster, NJ, United States of America

David Wilfred Johnson