Patent ID: 6466707
Filing Date: 2002-10-15
Classification: G02B

Abstract:
A temperature-compensated integrated optical component fabricated on a substrate, the substrate having an upper surface, the substrate either including an undercladding disposed on the upper surface thereof or the substrate acting as the undercladding itself, the temperature-compensated integrated optical component comprising:an optical phased array disposed on the substrate, the optical phased array defined by a plurality of waveguide cores and an overcladding disposed on the plurality of waveguide cores such that the plurality of waveguide cores are interposed between the undercladding and the overcladding, the plurality of waveguide cores having an index of refraction that increases with increasing temperature, the optical phased array having an intermediate section defining a groove, each of the plurality of waveguide cores having a lower surface and an upper surface, the groove extending downwardly to a depth lower than the bottom surface of the waveguide cores; and a slab waveguide located within the groove at the intermediate section of the optical array, the slab waveguide including an undercladding layer disposed at the bottom of the groove, the undercladding layer having an upper surface located in a plane generally coinciding with the lower surfaces of the plurality of the waveguide cores, a slab core layer disposed over the undercladding layer of the slab waveguide, the slab core layer having an index of refraction that decreases with increasing temperature to compensate for a temperature-induced change in the refractive index of the plurality of waveguide cores and maintain a generally constant optical path difference between the adjacent ones of the plurality of waveguide cores over a temperature range, the slab core layer having an upper surface in a plane generally coinciding with the upper surfaces of the plurality of waveguide cores, and an overcladding layer disposed over the slab core layer.