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:
Jun. 18, 2013
Filed:
Dec. 02, 2009
Yoshiyuki Doi, Atsugi, JP;
Takashi Yamada, Atsugi, JP;
Yohei Sakamaki, Atsugi, JP;
Akimasa Kaneko, Atsugi, JP;
Yoshiyuki Doi, Atsugi, JP;
Takashi Yamada, Atsugi, JP;
Yohei Sakamaki, Atsugi, JP;
Akimasa Kaneko, Atsugi, JP;
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
An optical modulator having a high stability is provided. In the optical modulator according to the present invention, a phase modulation by an electro-optic effect is made on an optical substrate of an electro-optic material while the setting of an operating point by a thermal-optic effect is made on a planar lightwave circuit (PLC) substrate of quartz, silicon, or the like. Such configuration can suppress the influence of thermal drift or the like because no heat is applied directly to the optical substrate of the electro-optic material. In addition, breakage and warpage of the substrate due to heat are also mitigated. Further, quartz used for the PLC has a low thermal conductivity, approximately one-fifth of that of the LN substrate (approximately 1 W/(m·K)), and therefore, a desired phase difference can be maintained with a low power consumption, and thus, the operating point becomes stabilized.