To reduce a production cost of a semiconductor device and provide a semiconductor device having improved characteristics. A grating coupler has a plurality of projections separated from each other in an optical waveguide direction and a slab portion formed between any two of the projections adjacent to each other and formed integrally with them; a MOS optical modulator has a projection extending in the optical waveguide direction and slab portions formed on both sides of the projection, respectively, and formed integrally therewith. The projection of the grating coupler and the MOS optical modulator is formed of a first semiconductor layer, a second insulating layer, and a second semiconductor layer stacked successively on a first insulating layer, while the grating coupler and the MOS optical modulator each have a slab portion formed of the first semiconductor layer.

An optical scanning device includes: a first waveguide that propagates light by total reflection; and a second waveguide. The second waveguide includes: a first multilayer reflective film; a second multilayer reflective film that faces the first multilayer reflective film; and a first optical waveguide layer directly connected to the first waveguide and located between the first and second multilayer reflective films. The first optical waveguide layer has a variable thickness and/or a variable refractive index and propagates the light transmitted through the first waveguide. The first multilayer reflective film has a higher light transmittance than the second multilayer reflective film and allows part of the light propagating through the first optical waveguide layer to be emitted to the outside. By changing the thickness of the first optical waveguide layer and/or its refractive index, the direction of the part of the light emitted from the second waveguide is changed.

An electro-optic device may include a photonic chip having an optical grating coupler at a surface. The optical grating coupler may include a first semiconductor layer having a first base and first fingers extending outwardly from the first base. The optical grating coupler may include a second semiconductor layer having a second base and second fingers extending outwardly from the second base and being interdigitated with the first fingers to define semiconductor junction areas, with the first and second fingers having a non-uniform width. The electro-optic device may include a circuit coupled to the optical grating coupler and configured to bias the semiconductor junction areas and change one or more optical characteristics of the optical grating coupler.

A near-eye optical display system utilized in augmented reality devices includes a see-through waveguide display having optical elements configured for in-coupling virtual images from an imager, exit pupil expansion, and out-coupling virtual images with expanded pupil to the user's eye. The near-eye optical display system further includes a curved two-sided array of electrically-activated tunable liquid crystal (LC) microlenses that is located between the waveguide and the user's eye. The LC microlenses are distributed in layers on each side of the two-sided array. Each pixel in the waveguide display is mapped to an LC microlens in the array, and multiple nearby pixels may be mapped to the same LC microlens. A region of the waveguide display that the user is gazing upon is detected and the LC microlens that is mapped to that region may be electrically activated to thereby individually shape the wavefront of each pixel in a virtual image.

To reduce a production cost of a semiconductor device and provide a semiconductor device having improved characteristics. A grating coupler has a plurality of projections separated from each other in an optical waveguide direction and a slab portion formed between any two of the projections adjacent to each other and formed integrally with them; a MOS optical modulator has a projection extending in the optical waveguide direction and slab portions formed on both sides of the projection, respectively, and formed integrally therewith. The projection of the grating coupler and the MOS optical modulator is formed of a first semiconductor layer, a second insulating layer, and a second semiconductor layer stacked successively on a first insulating layer, while the grating coupler and the MOS optical modulator each have a slab portion formed of the first semiconductor layer.

An electro-holographic light field generator device comprises surface acoustic wave (SAW) optical modulators arranged in different directions. Specifically, some embodiments have SAW modulators arranged in pairs, nose-to-nose with each other, and have output couplers that provide face-fire light emission. These SAW modulators also possibly include SAW sense transducers and/or viscoelastic surface material to reduce crosstalk.

An electro-holographic light field generator device comprises surface acoustic wave (SAW) optical modulators arranged in different directions. Specifically, some embodiments have SAW modulators arranged in pairs, nose-to-nose with each other, and have output couplers that provide face-fire light emission. These SAW modulators also possibly include SAW sense transducers and/or viscoelastic surface material to reduce crosstalk.

A hybrid package chip and an optical transmitter includes a first sub-chip including a first waveguide and at least one first electrode, and a second sub-chip including a second waveguide and at least one second electrode. The first waveguide is optically coupled to the second waveguide. A first electrode of the first sub-chip and a corresponding second electrode of the second sub-chip are electrically connected to one another by means of a first conductive structure, so as to receive a modulation electrical signal. The first sub-chip is configured to receive external input light and output the light by means of the first waveguide. The at least one first electrode modulates the input light so as to output the modulated light. The second waveguide receives a portion of light from the first sub-chip through coupling.

A high contrast grating optical modulation includes an optical modulator at a front surface of a substrate to modulate received light. The high contrast grating optical modulation further includes a high contrast grating (HCG) lens adjacent to a back surface of the substrate opposite to the front surface to focus incident light onto the optical modulator. The substrate is transparent to operational wavelengths of the focused incident light and the modulated light.

An electro-holographic light field generator device is disclosed. The light field generator device has an optical substrate with a waveguide face and an exit face. One or more surface acoustic wave (SAW) optical modulator devices are included within each light field generator device. The SAW devices each include a light input, a waveguide, and a SAW transducer, all configured for guided mode confinement of input light within the waveguide. A leaky mode deflection of a portion of the waveguided light, or diffractive light, impinges upon the exit face. Multiple output optics at the exit face are configured for developing from each of the output optics a radiated exit light from the diffracted light for at least one of the waveguides. An RF controller is configured to control the SAW devices to develop the radiated exit light as a three-dimensional output light field with horizontal parallax and compatible with observer vertical motion.