An optical phase-shifting device includes a ribbed waveguide portion on an insulating layer, the waveguide portion having a p-n or p-i-n junction extending in a longitudinal direction and having a height. A pair of slab portions are disposed adjacent the waveguide portion, one on each side of the ribbed waveguide portion and on the insulation layer. The slab portion have higher doping concentrations than the respective doping concentrations in the ribbed waveguide portion. At least a portion of each slab portion has a height increasing with distance from the waveguide portion, with the slab height being smaller than that of the waveguide portion at the junction between the waveguide portion and slab portion. A pair of contact portions are formed adjacent the respective slab portion and further away from the waveguide portion. A portion of each contact portion can also have a height varying with distance from the waveguide portion.

A photonic interface for an electronic circuit is disclosed. The photonic interface includes a photonic integrated circuit having a modulator and a photodetector, and an optical fiber or fibers for optical communication with another optical circuit. A modulator driver chip may be mounted directly on the photonic integrated circuit. The optical fibers may be placed in v-grooves of a fiber support, which may include at least one lithographically defined alignment feature for optical alignment to the silicon photonic circuit.

The objective of the present invention is to provide an optical modulator adapted for use with various modulating units and various modulation regions, and with which variability in optical losses is limited as far as possible. An optical modulator in which an optical waveguide and a control electrode for controlling an optical wave propagating through the optical waveguide are provided in a substrate, characterized in that: the optical waveguide is provided with a first branching portion which causes one input light beam to branch into two light beams; each of a first and a second modulating portion connected to two branched waveguides which branch at the first branching portion is provided with a structure in which one or more Mach-Zehnder type optical waveguides are combined; the control electrode comprises signal electrodes which apply modulated signals to the first and second modulating portions; input portions of all the signal electrodes are disposed on either the left or the right of the substrate relative to the direction in which the optical wave propagates; and in relation to output portions of the signal electrodes, the output portions of the signal electrodes led out from each modulating portion are disposed on the side on which the first or second modulating portions are disposed, relative to the direction in which the optical wave propagates.

In order to prevent non-uniformity in emission wavelength among different sites along an optical axis direction, provided is a resonator portion including: a waveguide which includes a first area and a second area being adjacent to the first area; and diffraction gratings formed along an optical axis direction. The effective refraction index in the first area is larger than the one in the second area, and the thickness in the first area is larger than the one in the second area. A pitch at the adjacent diffraction gratings at a boundary between the first area and the second area is narrower both than pitches of the diffraction gratings that are formed in the first area and than pitches of the diffraction gratings that are formed in the second area.

Photonic packages are described. One such photonic package includes a photonic chip, an application specific integrated circuit, and optionally, an interposer. The photonic chip includes photonic microelectromechanical system (MEMS) devices. A photonic package may include a material layer patterned to include recesses. The recesses are aligned with the photonic MEMS devices so as to form enclosed cavities around the photonic MEMS devices. This arrangement preserves the integrity of the photonic MEMS devices.

An optical waveguide for optical signals is formed in a semiconductor layer of an SOI substrate, a heater for heating the optical waveguide is formed on a silicon oxide film which covers the optical waveguide, and wirings for supplying power to the heater are connected to both ends of the heater. Each of the wirings is constituted of a laminated film of a bottom barrier metal film, an aluminum-copper alloy film serving as a main conductive film and a top barrier metal film, and the heater is constituted integrally with the bottom barrier metal film constituting a part of each of the wirings.

An integrated structure and method of formation provide a lower level waveguide having a core of a first material and a higher level waveguide having a core of a second material and a coupling region for coupling the two waveguides together. The different core materials provided different coupled waveguides having different light loss characteristics.

A novel electro-optic optical modulator device and a related method for creating the novel optical modulator device are disclosed. In one embodiment, the novel optical modulator comprises a high index contrast optical waveguide, a mesa region, electrical modulation electrodes, RF transmission lines, and interconnection layers. The high index contrast optical waveguide comprises an electro-optic slab core region and a high index ridge core region. A mesa section which includes the core regions can be formed, and electrical modulation electrodes are placed on etched sidewalls of the mesa section to achieve electro-optical index modulation of the electro-optic slab core region. The RF transmission lines include RF electrodes that connected to the electrical modulation electrodes. The interconnection layers connect the modulation electrodes with the RF electrodes by using etched vias. The novel optical modulator can also incorporate foldable modulation arms for poling in the electro-optic slab core region.

An optical waveguide which has sufficient orientation characteristics and its manufacturing processes are simple to be suitable for the manufacture of electro-optic elements and that can be reduced the power consumption by its large electro-optic characteristics and further can be thinned and stacked, and the material thereof. This material is characterized in a polymer compound that includes an oxazoline structure in a side chain, and an acid generator or a polyvalent carboxylic acid.

A photonic integrated circuit is presented that includes a substrate, and a first and second waveguide patterned on the substrate. The first waveguide guides an input beam of radiation. The photonic integrated circuit also includes a coupling region, wherein the first and second waveguides each pass through the coupling region. One or more modulating elements are coupled to each of the first and second waveguides. The first waveguide and the second waveguide have a first facet and a second facet, respectively, and first and second reflections are generated at the first and second facets within the first and second waveguides, respectively. The one or more modulating elements coupled to each of the first and second waveguides are designed to adjust the phase of the first and second reflections before the first and second reflections pass through the coupling region.