Hybrid organic-inorganic planar optical waveguide device

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION For purposes of clarity, the detailed description of the invention is divided into the following subsections: A.
Planar Optical Waveguide Device B.
Materials Used to Form the Planar Optical Waveguide Device C.
Specific Example of Materials Used to Form the Planar Optical Waveguide Device D.
Process for Forming the Planar Optical Waveguide Device E.
Examples of Planar Optical Waveguide Devices F.
Spectra of Materials Used to Form Planar Waveguide Devices A.
Planar Optical Waveguide Device A planar optical waveguide device in accordance with one illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown in cross-section FIG.
1.
The device 10 comprises a substrate 12.
The substrate 12 may be silicon or silica.
A patterned array of waveguide cores 14 is formed on the substrate.
Illustratively, the dimension of each waveguide core (height and width) can be as small as 0.
5 microns.
The waveguide cores 14 can be patterned to form splitters, couplers, filters, WDM devices and devices with other functions as well.
The waveguide cores 14 are covered with a cladding layer 16.
In one embodiment of the invention, the array of waveguide cores is a conventionally etched silicate waveguide core array.
The cladding layer may be an inorganic-organic hybrid material that comprises an extended matrix containing silicon and oxygen atoms in which a fraction of the silicon atoms are directly bonded to substituted or unsubstituted hydrocarbon moieties.
In an alternative embodiment of the invention, both the array of cores 14 and the cladding layer 16 may be an inorganic-organic hybrid material that comprises an extended matrix containing silicon and oxygen atoms in which a fraction of the silicon atoms are directly bonded to substituted or unsubstituted hydrocarbon moieties.
As is explained below, the index of refraction of this material can be designed to provide the high index cores and a low index cladding layer.
In an alternative embodiment of the invention, shown in FIG.
2, a planar optical device 20 comprises a substrate 22, a first cladding layer 24, an array of waveguide cores 26, and a second cladding layer 28