Juniper Networks, Inc.

Openlight Photonics, Inc.

Other

Aurrion, Inc.

Barrett Battery, Inc.

John Parker

Gregory Alan Fish

Brian Robert Koch

Jonathan Edgar Roth

Erik Johan Norberg

Jared Bauters

Martin A Spannagel

Antonio Labaro

Hyundai Park

Benjamin M Curtin

William J Ritter

Chris W Barnard

Anand Ramaswamy

John M Garcia

Steven B Alleston

Molly Piels

Brandon Gomez

Joseph D Maciejewski

Anand Sharangpani

Tom Mader

Jason M Prigge

Dylan Bourke

Disclosed is a coherent optical combining photonic integrated circuit that can detect and align light amplified by a scalable quantity of semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs). The light can be split into beams and amplified by individual SOAs in a PIC and combined via couplers in the PIC. The combined light can be measured using a photodetector and the light beams can be adjusted based the photodetector measurement to coherently combine the light to achieve high optical power from the photonic integrated circuit.

Semiconductor optical amplifier light combiner

Disclosed are integrated electro-absorption modulators (EAM) that are structured and/or operated to improve uniformity of the photocurrent density along the active region. In various embodiments, this improvement results from increased optical absorption at the rear of the EAM, e.g., as achieved by heating a region at the rear, increasing a bias voltage applied across the EAM towards the rear, or changing a material composition of an intrinsic layer towards the rear. In another embodiment, the improvement is achieved by coupling light from a waveguide into the EAM active region continuously along a length of the EAM, using overlap between a tapered section of the waveguide and the EAM.

Electro-absorption modulator with improved photocurrent uniformity

A device for retracting or opening and closing a tissue wound employs two or more retractor arms that do not enter or penetrate into the wound or incision. The retractor arms engage the tissue on either side of the wound and apply outward or inward pressure on the tissue surface to open or close the wound.

Non-invasive tissue retractor

Absolute temperature measurements of integrated photonic devices can be accomplished with integrated bandgap temperature sensors located adjacent the photonic devices. In various embodiments, the temperature of the active region within a diode structure of a photonic device is measured with an integrated bandgap temperature sensor that includes one or more diode junctions either in the semiconductor device layer beneath the active region or laterally adjacent to the photonic device, or in a diode structure formed above the semiconductor device layer and adjacent the diode structure of the photonic device.

Integrated bandgap temperature sensor

Photonic ring modulators with high tuning efficiency and small footprint can be formed in a hybrid material platform from a silicon bus waveguide vertically coupled to an optically active compound semiconductor (e.g., III-V) ring resonator. The performance of the modulator, e.g., in terms of the tuning efficiency and the maximum insertion loss, may be optimized by suitable levels of an applied bias voltage and a heater power of a heater optionally included in the ring modulator. The disclosed hybrid photonic ring modulators may be used, e.g., in photonic transceiver circuits with high lane count.

Hybrid photonic ring modulators

Methods and systems are presented for heterogeneous integration of photonics and electronics with atomic layer deposition (ALD) bonding. One method includes operations for forming a compound semiconductor and for depositing (e.g., via atomic layer deposition) a continuous film of a protection material (e.g., AlO) on a first surface of the compound semiconductor. Further, the method includes an operation for forming a silicon on insulator (SOI) wafer, with the SOI wafer comprising one or more waveguides. The method further includes bonding the compound semiconductor at the first surface to the SOI wafer to form a bonded structure and processing the bonded structure. The protection material protects the compound semiconductor from acid etchants during further processing of the bonded structure.

Atomic layer deposition bonding for heterogeneous integration of photonics and electronics

Temperature measurements of photonic circuit components may be performed optically, exploiting a temperature-dependent spectral property of the photonic device to be monitored itself, or of a separate optical temperature sensor placed in its vicinity. By facilitating measurements of the temperature of the individual photonic devices rather than merely the photonic circuit at large, such optical temperature measurements can provide more accurate temperature information and help improve thermal design.

Optical temperature measurements in photonic circuits

An optical modulator of an optical transceiver can be calibrated using intermediate frequency (IF) signals to generate accurate crossing point values (e.g., DC bias). A photodiode can measure output from the optical modulator at intermediate and high-speed frequencies to generate crossing point values that avoid crossing point errors. A target crossing point can be selected at any value (e.g., 40%, 50%) and bias values can be generated from IF signals and then stored in a lookup date for setting the modulator bias during operation.

Intermediate frequency calibrated optical modulators

In photonic integrated circuits implemented in silicon-on-insulator substrates, non-conductive channels formed, in accordance with various embodiments, in the silicon device layer and/or the silicon handle of the substrate in regions underneath radio-frequency transmission lines of photonic devices can provide breaks in parasitic conductive layers of the substrate, thereby reducing radio-frequency substrate losses.

Radio-frequency loss reduction in photonic circuits

Described are various configurations of integrated wavelength lockers including asymmetric Mach-Zehnder interferometers (AMZIs) and associated detectors. Various embodiments provide improved wavelength-locking accuracy by using an active tuning element in the AMZI to achieve an operational position with high locking sensitivity, a coherent receiver to reduce the frequency-dependence of the locking sensitivity, and/or a temperature sensor and/or strain gauge to computationally correct for the effect of temperature or strain changes.

Integrated wavelength locker

Power consumption in MZI-based integrated photonic switches or filters throughout the operational life can be reduced by reducing fabrication-induced phase misalignment between the unpowered operational mode of the switch or filter and the predominant switch state, and/or by enabling low-power compensation for any such misalignment. In various embodiments, misalignment is reduced by increasing the width of the waveguides implementing the interferometer arms of the MZI, and/or by structuring a region containing the MZI symmetrically to diminish stress-induced misalignment. In some embodiments, phase tuners are used to actively compensate for any phase misalignment, with a tuner drive voltage substantially lower than used to switch to the non-dominant state.

Power-efficient integrated photonic switch

High-channel-count optical transceivers can be implemented in photonic integrated circuits (PICs) with shared lasers, splitting the light of each laser between multiple lanes prior to modulation. To reduce waveguide crossings in such PICs, transmitter and self-test functionality may be distributed between separate device layers. Various beneficial transmitter circuitry layouts are disclosed.

Optical redistribution layers for high-channel-count photonics

An optical device such as an optical transceiver can include a cascaded built-in self-test structure that can be configured in testing mode using an active power mode and can sufficiently attenuate light away from a loopback path in an inactive power mode. The optical device can include a wafer top emitter that can be used to tune a light source for testing and calibration of optical components while the built-in self-test structure is in active mode.

Growing community of inventors

Goleta, CA, United States of America

John Parker