Optical data emitter device

Claim 1

A device for emitting binary data in the form of a light wave that is modulated in power and in phase, the device comprising: an interferometer structure of the Mach-Zehnder type in which an inlet light guide, suitable for receiving an inlet light wave, is split into two branches for guiding two partial waves, said two branches recombining to form an outlet guide, electrodes being provided to apply respective electric fields across said two branches; and a control circuit for applying said electric fields as a function of an input electrical signal modulated between a high voltage level and a low voltage level, and representative of the binary data to be emitted; wherein said interferometer structure is of the p-i-n type made on a substrate of III-V elements, wherein said two branches are dimensioned so that in the absence of an applied electric field said two partial waves interfere destructively, wherein said control circuit is designed to apply respective control voltages to the electrodes with DC components that are substantially equal, at least one of said control voltages being the result of superposing a bias on a filtered signal obtained by lowpass filtering said input electrical signal and wherein phase changes of an emitted light wave occur when a power of the emitted light wave is at a minimum value.

Claim 2

A device for emitting binary data in the form of a light wave that is modulated in power and in phase, the device comprising: an interferometer structure of the Mach-Zehnder type in which an inlet light guide, suitable for receiving an inlet light wave, is split into two branches for guiding two partial waves, said two branches recombining to form an outlet guide, electrodes being provided to apply respective electric fields across said two branches; and a control circuit for applying said electric fields as a function of an input electrical signal modulated between a high voltage level and a low voltage level, and representative of the binary data to be emitted; wherein said interferometer structure is of the p-i-n type made on a substrate of III-V elements, wherein said two branches are dimensioned so that in the absence of an applied electric field said two partial waves interfere destructively, wherein said control circuit is designed to apply respective control voltages to the electrodes with DC components that are substantially equal, at least one of said control voltages being the result of superposing a bias on a filtered signal obtained by lowpass filtering said input electrical signal and wherein phase changes of an emitted light wave occur when a power of the emitted light wave is at a minimum value.