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US5438639A
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Ion-beam deposited, gain enhanced ring resonators
Assignee: University of Rochester
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Filing: 1993-11-22
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Granted: 1995-08-01
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Expires: 2013-11-22
Abstract
Abstract An optical waveguide is created using the process of ion beam deposition resulting in a waveguide with low propagation loss, mode discrimination, and gain characteristics. The waveguide is made up of a multilayer stack which is deposited upon a thermally stable substrate, wherein the multilayer stack comprises alternating layers of a first material and a second material. The layers of second material are doped with a rare earth material. By pumping the waveguide with a pump light source, interaction between the pump light and the rare earth material within the waveguide causes amplification or gain of a first optical signal. Ion beam deposition is used to fabricate the waveguide, therefore production of a high quality rare earth doped waveguide is possible. Furthermore, the waveguide is made using batch processing thus reducing costs.
Inventors
- 👤 Carol M. Ford
- 👤 Theodore J. Podgorski
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 11:20
CPC Classifications
G; G02; G02B; G02B6/00; G02B6/10; G02B6/12; G02B6/12007; G01; G01C; G01C19/00; G01C19/58; G01C19/64; G01C19/72; G01C19/721; G01C19/722; G02B6/12002; G02B6/13; G02B6/131; H; H01; H01S; H01S5/00; H01S5/10; H01S5/1021; H01S5/1028; H01S5/1032; G02B2006/12035; G02B2006/12038; H01S5/50
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 16
Claim 1
Independent Claim
239 words
A gain enhanced ring resonator for supporting two counter-propagating optical signals, comprising: a closed loop optical waveguide comprised of a substrate, a first optical isolation layer wherein the material of the first isolation layer has a first index of refraction and is made up of a first level of material and a second level of material, a first layer of a first material attached to first isolation layer wherein the first material has a second index of refraction, a second layer of a second material attached to first layer wherein the second material has a third index of refraction, a third layer of the first material and a second optical isolation layer attached to the third layer and made up of the material of the first isolation layer, wherein the closed loop waveguide is continuous, and wherein the first index of refraction and the third index of refraction are lower than the second index of refraction; a first optical coupler means for coupling a first light source into the closed loop waveguide, wherein the first light source projects a first light signal having a first wavelength; and a second optical coupler means for coupling a second light source into the closed loop waveguide, wherein the second light source projects a light signal having a second wavelength, and wherein the second light signal interacts with the first material causing amplification of the first light signal within the closed loop waveguide.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
239 words
A gain enhanced ring resonator for supporting two counter-propagating optical signals, comprising: a closed loop optical waveguide comprised of a substrate, a first optical isolation layer wherein the material of the first isolation layer has a first index of refraction and is made up of a first level of material and a second level of material, a first layer of a first material attached to first isolation layer wherein the first material has a second index of refraction, a second layer of a second material attached to first layer wherein the second material has a third index of refraction, a third layer of the first material and a second optical isolation layer attached to the third layer and made up of the material of the first isolation layer, wherein the closed loop waveguide is continuous, and wherein the first index of refraction and the third index of refraction are lower than the second index of refraction; a first optical coupler means for coupling a first light source into the closed loop waveguide, wherein the first light source projects a first light signal having a first wavelength; and a second optical coupler means for coupling a second light source into the closed loop waveguide, wherein the second light source projects a light signal having a second wavelength, and wherein the second light signal interacts with the first material causing amplification of the first light signal within the closed loop waveguide.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
18 words
The gain enhanced ring resonator of claim 1 wherein the first material is Zirconium dioxide (ZrO 2 ).
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
22 words
The gain enhanced ring resonator of claim 1 wherein the second material is Silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ) doped with erbium (Er).
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
22 words
The gain enhanced ring resonator of claim 1 wherein the optical waveguide is fabricated by using the process of ion beam deposition.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
27 words
The gain enhanced ring resonator of claim 1 wherein the first isolation layer and the second isolation layer are made up of silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ).
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
24 words
The gain enhanced ring resonator of claim 1 wherein the first material and the second material are both doped with a rare earth material.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
17 words
The gain enhanced ring resonator of claim 6 wherein the rare earth material is erbium (Er) .
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
200 words
A gain enhanced ring resonator for supporting two counter-propagating optical signals, comprising: a planar substrate; a multilayer closed loop optical waveguide deposited upon the substrate using the method of ion beam deposition, the waveguide comprised of a plurality of alternating layers of a first material and a second material wherein the first material has a first index of refraction and the second material has a second index of refraction, the first index of refraction being higher than the second index of refraction, the second material being further doped with a rare earth material; a first coupling means deposited upon the substrate using the method of ion beam deposition, the first coupling means for causing a first optical signal to be coupled into the closed loop waveguide, the first optical signal having a first wavelength; and a second coupling means deposited upon the substrate using the method of ion beam deposition, the second coupling means for causing a second optical signal to be coupled into the closed loop waveguide, the second optical signal having a second wavelength, the second optical signal for interacting with the doped rare earth material in the second material thus causing amplification of the first optical signal.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
200 words
A gain enhanced ring resonator for supporting two counter-propagating optical signals, comprising: a planar substrate; a multilayer closed loop optical waveguide deposited upon the substrate using the method of ion beam deposition, the waveguide comprised of a plurality of alternating layers of a first material and a second material wherein the first material has a first index of refraction and the second material has a second index of refraction, the first index of refraction being higher than the second index of refraction, the second material being further doped with a rare earth material; a first coupling means deposited upon the substrate using the method of ion beam deposition, the first coupling means for causing a first optical signal to be coupled into the closed loop waveguide, the first optical signal having a first wavelength; and a second coupling means deposited upon the substrate using the method of ion beam deposition, the second coupling means for causing a second optical signal to be coupled into the closed loop waveguide, the second optical signal having a second wavelength, the second optical signal for interacting with the doped rare earth material in the second material thus causing amplification of the first optical signal.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
18 words
The gain enhanced ring resonator of claim 8 wherein the first material is zirconium dioxide (ZrO 2 ).
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
21 words
The gain enhanced ring resonator of claim 8 wherein the second material is silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ) doped with erbium.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
19 words
The gain enhanced ring resonator of claim 8 wherein the first material is doped with a rare earth material.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
18 words
The gain enhanced ring resonator of claim 8 wherein the substrate is silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ) .
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
57 words
The ring resonator of claim 8 further comprising a first isolation layer situated between the substrate and the closed loop waveguide, and a second isolation layer covering and surrounding the waveguide, the first isolation layer and the second isolation layer made up of a material having an index of refraction lower than that of the first material.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
20 words
The ring resonator of claim 8 wherein sharp transitions exist between layers of first material and layers of second material.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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