An optical source includes a semiconductor optical amplifier that provides an optical signal, and a photonic chip with first and second ring resonators that operate as Vernier rings. When the optical source is operated below a lasing threshold, one or more thermal-tuning mechanisms, which may be thermally coupled to the first ring resonator and/or the second ring resonator, may be adjusted to align resonances of the first ring resonator and the second ring resonator based on measured optical power on a shared optical waveguide that is optically coupled to the first and second ring resonators. Then, when the optical source is operated above the lasing threshold, a common thermal-tuning mechanism may be adjusted to lock the aligned resonances with an optical cavity mode of the optical source based on a measured optical power on an optical waveguide that is optically coupled to the first ring resonator.

A system and method includes a laser to create a control laser signal and a laser to create a probe laser signal. A resonator creates an acoustic signal adjacent the control laser signal and the probe laser signal. A resulting coherent interaction between the control laser signal and the probe laser signal creates a Brillouin scattering induced transparency in one direction and maintains opacity in an opposite direction.

According to one embodiment, a semiconductor light-receiving element, includes a light-receiving part provided on a substrate and having a semiconductor multilayer structure of a circular outer shape, a optical input part formed of a peripheral portion of the semiconductor multilayer structure, and having a tapered front end, and a silicon-thin-line waveguide configured to couple light with the optical input part. The waveguide includes a linear part extending through the optical input part to an at least one area of an upper-side area and a lower-side area of the light-receiving part, and a spiral part connected to the linear part and formed in the at least one area.

A heat flux sensor including at least one optical resonator suspended on a support, the optical resonator intended to be suspended in a gaseous environment, at least one first device intended to introduce a measurement light beam into the waveguide, at least one second collection device, intended to collect a detection light beam coming from the optical resonator and a device for heating of the optical resonator.

A polymer-clad optical modulator includes a substrate comprising an insulating material; a silicon microring on the substrate; silicon waveguides on the substrate adjacent the silicon microring; an electro-optic polymer covering the silicon microring and the silicon waveguide; and an electrical contact on top of the electro-optic polymer. The silicon microring or a portion of an adjacent silicon layer is lightly doped. A polymer-clad depletion type optical modulator and a polymer-clad carrier injection type optical modulator, each employing the lightly doped silicon microring or an adjacent lightly doped silicon layer, are also described.

An optical device that includes means for thermal stabilization and control is described. The optical device can be a ring resonator, or another device that requires accurate control of the phase of the optical signal. In an example involving an optical resonator, a thermal stabilization system includes a temperature sensor, a control circuit, and a heater local to the resonator. The temperature sensor can be a bandgap temperature sensor formed of a pair of matched p/n junctions biased in operation at different junction currents.

An optical source is described. This optical source includes a semiconductor optical amplifier, with a semiconductor other than silicon, which provides an optical gain medium. In addition, a photonic chip, optically coupled to the semiconductor optical amplifier, includes: a first optical waveguide that conveys at least a portion of the optical signal, and a second optical waveguide that conveys at least another portion of the optical signal. Moreover, the photonic chip includes a distributed-Bragg-reflector (DBR) ring resonator that is optically coupled to the first optical waveguide and the second optical waveguide, and that reflects a tunable wavelength in the optical signal. Furthermore, a monitor on the photonic chip measures at least the other portion of the optical signal, and control logic on the photonic chip thermally tunes the tunable wavelength of the DBR ring resonator based on the measurement of at least the other portion of the optical signal.

An optical interconnector (915) includes: a first vertical coupled cavity (100), a first optical waveguide (102), and a second optical waveguide (103). The first vertical coupled cavity (100) includes N identical micro-resonant cavities that are equidistantly stacked, where a center of each micro-resonant cavity is located on a first straight line that is perpendicular to a plane on which the micro-resonant cavity is located, the first optical waveguide (102) and a first micro-resonant cavity (11) are in a same plane, the second optical waveguide (103) and a second micro-resonant cavity (13) are in a same plane, the first optical waveguide (102) is an input optical waveguide, the second optical waveguide (103) is a first output optical waveguide, and an optical signal having a first resonant wavelength in the first optical waveguide (102) enters the second optical waveguide (103) through the first vertical coupled cavity (100).

Provided are: an optical waveguide that relatively easily expands a spot size and that can suppress an increase in optical coupling loss with another optical waveguide element; and an optical component and variable-wavelength laser that use the optical waveguide. The optical waveguide is provided with: a cladding member; and a core layer that is disposed within the cladding member and that is formed as an elongated body having a rectangular cross-sectional shape from a material having a higher refractive index than the material configuring the cladding member. Here, the cross-sectional shape of the core layer is characterized in having a rectangular shape in which the length in the lateral direction is at least 10 times the length in the vertical direction.

A method comprises exposing the surface of an optical microcavity characterized by at least one resonance frequency to a sample such that a single particle or molecule from the sample adsorbs onto the surface of the microcavity; evanescently coupling a probe laser beam into the microcavity, the wavelength of the probe laser beam substantially matching the at least one resonance frequency; illuminating the surface of the microcavity with a free space pump light beam and moving the focal spot of the free space pump light beam such that the focal spot substantially overlaps with the single particle/molecule; and detecting light from the probe laser beam. The wavelength of the free space pump light beam generates sufficient heat via energy absorbed by the single particle/molecule to induce a shift in the at least one resonance frequency, thereby providing a change in an optical characteristic of the detected light.