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.

Integrated optical devices and methods of forming the same are disclosed. A method of forming an integrated optical device includes the following steps. A substrate is provided. The substrate includes, from bottom to top, a first semiconductor layer, an insulating layer and a second semiconductor layer. The second semiconductor layer is patterned to form a waveguide pattern. A surface smoothing treatment is performed to the waveguide pattern until a surface roughness Rz of the waveguide pattern is equal to or less than a desired value. A cladding layer is formed over the waveguide pattern.

A system and method for forming microlattice structures of large thickness. In one embodiment, a photomonomer resin is secured in a mold having a transparent bottom, the interior surface of which is coated with a mold-release agent. A substrate is placed in contact with the top surface of the photomonomer resin. The photomonomer resin is illuminated from below by one or more sources of collimated light, through a photomask, causing polymer waveguides to form, extending up to the substrate, forming a microlattice structure connected with the substrate. After a layer of microlattice structure has formed, the substrate is raised using a translation-rotation system, additional photomonomer resin is added to the mold, and the photomonomer resin is again illuminated through the photomask, to form an additional layer of microlattice structure. The process is repeated multiple times to form a stacked microlattice structure.

According to embodiments of the invention, the design and fabrication of a binary superimposed grating (BSG) results in better performing devices that may be fabricated using existing technology. The fabrication process includes forming grating features based upon repeating features of the desired superposition function. The design process also relaxes the processing requirement for equivalently performing devices.

The present disclosure relates to systems and methods relating to the fabrication of light guide elements. An example system includes an optical component configured to direct light emitted by a light source to illuminate a photoresist material at one or more desired angles so as to expose an angled structure in the photoresist material. The photoresist material overlays at least a portion of a first surface of a substrate. The optical component includes a container containing a light-coupling material that is selected based in part on the one or more desired angles. The system also includes a reflective surface arranged to reflect at least a first portion of the emitted light to illuminate the photoresist material at the one or more desired angles.

A method for forming hermetic seals between the cap and sub-mount for electronic and optoelectronic packages includes the formation of metal mounds on the sealing surfaces. Metal mounds, as precursors to a metal hermetic seal between the cap and sub-mount of a sub-mount assembly, facilitates the evacuation and purging of the volume created within cap and sub-mount assemblies prior to formation of the hermetic seal. The method is applied to discrete cap and sub-mount assemblies and also at the wafer level on singulated and non-singulated cap and sub-mount wafers. The method that includes the formation of the hermetic seal provides an inert environment for a plurality of electrical, optoelectrical, and optical die that are attached within an enclosed volume of the sub-mount assembly.

In an optical circuit divided into a plurality of partial circuits, an optical waveguide having a low optical loss at a connection portion is provided. A photomask in which a waveguide pattern of an optical circuit is divided into a plurality of regions and drawn, the photomask including a waveguide pattern for drawing a joint region in which a waveguide width changes as a waveguide goes toward an outer peripheral portion, to connect a plurality of the waveguides divided and drawn to each other, in which the waveguides are connected to each other by overlapping the joint regions of two of the photomasks and performing exposure.

Integrated optical devices and methods of forming the same are disclosed. A method of forming an integrated optical device includes the following steps. A substrate is provided. The substrate includes, from bottom to top, a first semiconductor layer, an insulating layer and a second semiconductor layer. The second semiconductor layer is patterned to form a waveguide pattern. A surface smoothing treatment is performed to the waveguide pattern until a surface roughness Rz of the waveguide pattern is equal to or less than a desired value. A cladding layer is formed over the waveguide pattern.

Methods for patterning of multi-depth layers for the fabrication of optical devices are provided. In one embodiment, a method is provided that includes disposing a resist layer over a device layer disposed over a top surface of a substrate, the device layer having a first portion and a second portion, patterning the resist layer to form a first resist layer pattern having a plurality of first openings and a second resist layer pattern having a plurality of second openings, and etching exposed portions of the device layer defined by the plurality of first openings and the plurality of second openings, wherein the plurality of first openings are configured to form at least a portion of a plurality of first structures within the optical device, and the plurality of second openings are configured to form at least a portion of a plurality of second structures within the optical device.

Disclosed is a method for fabricating a spherical concave mirror in an optical waveguide based on ultraviolet (UV) grayscale lithography. A key component is a specially designed mask pattern composed of a rectangle as well as a semicircle adjacent to the rectangle, where a rectangular area has no grayscale distribution, and UV light penetrating through different portions of the rectangular area has the same intensity; a semicircular area has the grayscale distribution, and the UV light penetrating through the semicircular area with the grayscale distribution is changed in intensity from the center of a circle in the radius direction according to a special function distribution law; an interlayer photoresist in the rectangular area is irradiated by the UV light penetrating through a mask plate and is developed to form an optical waveguide core.