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. 02, 2013
Filed:
May. 05, 2008
Janice A. Hudgings, South Hadley, MA (US);
Rajeev J. Ram, Arlington, MA (US);
Maryam Farzaneh, South Hadley, MA (US);
Janice A. Hudgings, South Hadley, MA (US);
Rajeev J. Ram, Arlington, MA (US);
Maryam Farzaneh, South Hadley, MA (US);
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (US);
Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA (US);
Abstract
In one aspect, the present invention provides techniques and apparatus for optical characterization of photonic devices and/or circuits. By way of example, the techniques can be used to identify damaged devices in photonic integrated circuits. In some embodiments, thermal imaging is employed as a diagnostic tool for characterizing the devices/circuits under investigation. For example, in one embodiment, integrated cascaded semiconductor amplifiers can be characterized using amplified spontaneous emission from one amplifier as a thermal modulation input to another amplifier. A thermoreflectance image of the second amplifier can reveal flaws, if present. Further, in some embodiments, thermal imaging in conjunction with a total energy model can be employed to characterize the elements of photonic circuits optically and/or to map the optical power distribution throughout the circuits.