The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 24, 2001
Filed:
Feb. 18, 1999
Glenn Eric Kohnke, Painted Post, NY (US);
Danny Wayne Nightingale, Beaver Dams, NY (US);
Peter Gerard Wigley, Corning, NY (US);
Corning Incorporated, Corning, NY (US);
Abstract
The present invention is directed to a method of enhancing the photosensitivity of an optical waveguide and an optical waveguide having persistent UV photosensitivity following out diffusion of a loading gas such as H,or D,. The optical waveguide is loaded with a gas such as H,or D,to form an associated baseline refractive index. At least a portion of the loaded optical waveguide is exposed to UV radiation to induce a change in the baseline refractive index and the waveguide is annealed to diffuse the gas from the loaded optical waveguide and to stabilize the change in refractive index. Following annealing the optical waveguide retains a UV photosensitivity sufficient to produce significant refractive index changes relative to the induced change in baseline refractive index. The method of the present invention is particularly well suited for designing and fabricating grating devices, tuning grating strength and wavelength, and for providing accurate spatial control of waveguide photosensitivity. Waveguides having complex photosensitivity profiles as a function of length are also disclosed.