Methods for Compact Strip/Slot Waveguide Coupling with 20dB Efficiency Enhancement

Background The market for optical networking components will grow from approximately $2.8 billion in 2007 to $7.9 billion in 2012, according to CIR forecasts. Within this market is the market segment which includes photonic crystal waveguides.

This invention provides a means to efficiently couple light into a slot photonic crystal waveguide with a compact structure. Stimulation indicates that the slot photonic crystal waveguide exhibits low group velocity near the band edge and therefore leads to a significant enhancement of nonlinear effect for active devices. The power consumption and device size needed to modulate an optical signal are thus significantly reduced. This advantage is crucial for optical sensors and for fully embedded board-level interconnects, where heat dissipation due to the fully embedded structure is a paramount concern.

The invention is aptly suited for sensor applications where the optical energy is much better confined in space and group velocity is much slower in time. The combination of these two gives another 60X or higher enhancement of sensitivity.

Invention Description Inventors from The University of Texas at Austin have developed a novel device model for strip/waveguide coupling that helps transform the mode size and the mode shape between different waveguide types, with negligible power transmission loss and compact device size.

A few of the significant advantages of this structure over conventional technology are that it offers 20dB coupling efficiency enhancement for the slot photonic crystal waveguide and significantly lowers the coupling length requirement. With proper doping, a high external field can be generated with a low voltage. This maximizes the overlap of a high optical mode field and a high external electric field and, together with the low group velocity, provides a promising approach to applying low-index EO materials in highly integrated optical circuits and enables the development of the silicon compatible nanophotonic waveguide modulators.

Benefits

Relatively inexpensive, silicon CMOS production, high-quality precision components Plug-and-play capable More precise or higher signature sensitivity MEMS scale footprint giving it a low weight advantage Excellent modulation efficiency compared to conventional modulation scheme Can be used similar to electro-absorption modulators Transparent to any optical sensors Can fill 20nm channels with any polymer, chemical, gas, or liquid Low heat generation

Features



Market Potential/Applications This invention has interoperability capabilities for use in the optical sensor market: specifically bio/chem sensors, telecommunications market containing modulators for mesh networks and MANs, fiber-to-the-home (FTTH), data communications, and structural sensor (bridges).

Development Stage Lab/bench prototype

IP Status One U.S. patent application filed

UT Researcher Ray T. Chen, Ph.D., Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin Xiaonan Chen, Electrical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin

Type of Offer: Licensing



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