Alcatel N.v.

Alcatel

Monique Renaud

Jean-Francois Vinchant

Marko Erman

Roland Mestric

Philippe Pagnod-Rossiaux

Fr&eacute;d&eacute;ric Pommereau

Bernard Martin

A method of fabricating an optical integrated circuit comprising at least one etched and buried BRS waveguide coupled to at least one etched but not buried ridge waveguide includes defining an imprint for the two types of guide beforehand, using a common mask, and then defining the two types of guide by successive etching operations.

Method of fabricating an optical integrated circuit

In a digital optical switch an input waveguide and two divergent output waveguides constitute a guide structure. A median gap between the two output waveguides constitutes a guide gap. Electrodes control the refractive indices of the two output waveguides to couple the input waveguide and one or both output waveguides depending on the value of a control signal. The width of the guide gap is increased in input and output transition areas to render the variation of this width more progressive therein. This is achieved by means of a median aperture at the end of the input waveguide and a progressive variation in the inclination of the facing edges of the output waveguides.

Y-branch digital optical switch

A guide structure of a strip semiconductor active optical device includes a core structure extending as far as coupling surfaces. It includes at least three high index layers having refractive indices increased relative to that of the surrounding media to increase in these layers the power density of light to be processed, for example amplitude modulated, by the device. The high index layers have compositions such that they can apply this processing in response to electrical excitation and thicknesses greater than those of quantum wells. They are separated by lower refractive index dilutant layers with greater thicknesses such that a single propagation mode of light is guided by the guide structure. This mode has a thickness suited to coupling to an external optical component whilst confining the majority of the power of the light within the thickness of the core structure to favor the processing.

Semiconductor strip active optical device

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Saint Cheron, France

Monique Renaud