Patent ID: 6151429
Filing Date: 2000-11-21
Classification: G02B,H01S

Abstract:
A method of producing an active optical waveguide having asymmetric polarisation, said method comprising the steps of:(a) providing an active optical waveguide (10) comprising:(i) a transverse refractive index profile (21) comprising a guiding region (11) containing an active dopant, a non-guiding region (12) surrounding the guiding region, and an intermediate region (13) between said guiding and non-guiding regions, said intermediate region optionally having the same refractive index as the non-guiding region,(ii) a transverse photorefractive dopant profile (31) having a constant or graded photorefractive dopant concentration within at least one of said guiding, non-guiding and intermediate regions, except that the photorefractive dopant is not located solely in the guiding region, and(iii) exhibiting in said guiding region, intermediate region, or both, light guiding modes having different polarisations;(b) and exposing at least a part (10a, 10b) of the active optical waveguide to an effective transverse illumination of light (20) reacting with the photorefractive dopant and modifying the transverse refractive index profile;said part of the active optical waveguide being exposed to a fluence selectively suppressing the propagation of the light guiding modes having different polarisations so that the propagation of one mode is less suppressed than the propagation of the other mode(s).