DOE Patents Database - Search Results

Patent Title	Inventor(s)	Issue Date	Patent Number
Optical waveguide devices are disclosed which utilize an optical waveguide having a waveguide bend therein with a width that varies adiabatically between a minimum value and a maximum value of the width. One or more connecting members can be attached to the waveguide bend near the maximum value of the width thereof to support the waveguide bend or to supply electrical power to an impurity-doped region located within the waveguide bend near the maximum value of the width. The impurity-doped region can form an electrical heater or a semiconductor junction which can be activated with a voltage to provide a variable optical path length in the optical waveguide. The optical waveguide devices can be used to form a tunable interferometer (e.g. a Mach-Zehnder interferometer) which can be used for optical modulation or switching. The optical waveguide devices can also be used to form an optical delay line. Optical waveguide device with an adiabatically-varying width	Watts , Michael R. , Gregory N.	05/10/2011	7,941,014
A microelectromechanical (MEM) inertial sensor is disclosed which can be used to sense a linear acceleration, or a Coriolis acceleration due to an angular rotation rate, or both. The MEM inertial sensor has a proof mass which is supported on a bridge extending across an opening through a substrate, with the proof mass being balanced on the bridge by a pivot, or suspended from the bridge by the pivot. The proof mass can be oscillated in a tangential direction in the plane of the substrate, with any out-of-plane movement of the proof mass in response to a sensed acceleration being optically detected using transmission gratings located about an outer edge of the proof mass to generate a diffracted light pattern which changes with the out-of-plane movement of the proof mass. Microelectromechanical inertial sensor	Okandan, Murat , Nielson, Gregory N.	06/26/2012	8,205,497
A thermal microphotonic sensor is fabricated on a silicon substrate by etching an opening and a trench into the substrate, and then filling in the opening and trench with silicon oxide which can be deposited or formed by thermally oxidizing a portion of the silicon substrate surrounding the opening and trench. The silicon oxide forms a support post for an optical resonator which is subsequently formed from a layer of silicon nitride, and also forms a base for an optical waveguide formed from the silicon nitride layer. Part of the silicon substrate can be selectively etched away to elevate the waveguide and resonator. The thermal microphotonic sensor, which is useful to detect infrared radiation via a change in the evanescent coupling of light between the waveguide and resonator, can be formed as a single device or as an array. Fabrication of thermal microphotonic sensors and sensor arrays	Shaw, Michael J. , Watts, Michael R. , Nielson, Gregory N.	10/26/2010	7,820,970
Optical ring resonator devices are disclosed that can be used for optical filtering, modulation or switching, or for use as photodetectors or sensors. These devices can be formed as microdisk ring resonators, or as open-ring resonators with an optical waveguide having a width that varies adiabatically. Electrical and mechanical connections to the open-ring resonators are made near a maximum width of the optical waveguide to minimize losses and thereby provide a high resonator Q. The ring resonators can be tuned using an integral electrical heater, or an integral semiconductor junction. Wavelength-tunable optical ring resonators	Watts, Michael R. , Trotter, Douglas C. , Young, Ralph W. , Nielson, Gregory N.	11/10/2009	7,616,850
Optical ring resonator devices are disclosed that can be used for optical filtering, modulation or switching, or for use as photodetectors or sensors. These devices can be formed as microdisk ring resonators, or as open-ring resonators with an optical waveguide having a width that varies adiabatically. Electrical and mechanical connections to the open-ring resonators are made near a maximum width of the optical waveguide to minimize losses and thereby provide a high resonator Q. The ring resonators can be tuned using an integral electrical heater, or an integral semiconductor junction. Wavelength-tunable optical ring resonators	Watts, Michael R. , Trotter, Douglas C. , Young, Ralph W. , Nielson, Gregory N.	11/10/2009	7,616,850
A thermal microphotonic sensor is disclosed for detecting infrared radiation using heat generated by the infrared radiation to shift the resonant frequency of an optical resonator (e.g. a ring resonator) to which the heat is coupled. The shift in the resonant frequency can be determined from light in an optical waveguide which is evanescently coupled to the optical resonator. An infrared absorber can be provided on the optical waveguide either as a coating or as a plate to aid in absorption of the infrared radiation. In some cases, a vertical resonant cavity can be formed about the infrared absorber to further increase the absorption of the infrared radiation. The sensor can be formed as a single device, or as an array for imaging the infrared radiation. Thermal microphotonic sensor and sensor array	Watts, Michael R. , Shaw, Michael J. , Nielson, Gregory N. , Lentine, Anthony L.	02/23/2010	7,667,200
Optical ring resonator devices are disclosed that can be used for optical filtering, modulation or switching, or for use as photodetectors or sensors. These devices can be formed as microdisk ring resonators, or as open-ring resonators with an optical waveguide having a width that varies adiabatically. Electrical and mechanical connections to the open-ring resonators are made near a maximum width of the optical waveguide to minimize losses and thereby provide a high resonator Q. The ring resonators can be tuned using an integral electrical heater, or an integral semiconductor junction. Wavelength-tunable optical ring resonators	Watts, Michael R. , Trotter, Douglas C. , Young, Ralph W. , Nielson, Gregory N.	07/19/2011	7,983,517

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