Patent ID: 6208795
Filing Date: 2001-03-27
Classification: G02F,H01S

Abstract:
An optical isolator comprising a semiconductive light amplifier structure including a semiconductor substrate of first conductivity type having a surface of a layer to be formed thereon, a first cladding layer of first conductivity type formed on the substrate, an active layer formed on the first cladding layer, a second cladding layer of the second conductivity type opposite to first conductivity type, formed on active layer, a first electrode formed on the surface of the semiconductor substrate opposite to the surface to be formed as a layer, and a second electrode formed on the second cladding layer; the first and the second cladding layers and the active layer form an optical waveguide in which the light wave propagates, the semiconductive light amplifier structure further comprising a light absorptive magnetic material layer having light absorption function for the light wave propagating through the optical waveguide, the magnetic material layer is magnetized so as to have the magnetic-field component in the direction which corresponds to the direction where a magnetic vector of the light wave vibrates, the waveguide structure body has a nonreciprocity optical characteristic that effective refractive index changes into the light wave to which the optical waveguide is propagated according to the magnet-optical effect of the light absorptive magnetic material layer according to the direction of propagation, by the effective refractive index change in the nonreciprocity, the attenuation of the first light wave that the optical waveguide is propagated in the first direction caused when the said waveguide is propagated, becomes small more than the attenuation of the second light wave propagated in the second direction opposite to the first direction caused when the said waveguide is propagated.