JPS6344208B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides continuous or pulsed light emitted from a single semiconductor laser, light emitting diode, or other light source.
The present invention relates to a light source array device that guides modulated oscillation light to a plurality of optical fibers.

Conventionally, light emitting elements such as semiconductor lasers require great efforts to strictly align the characteristics, for example, to align values such as oscillation wavelength and power threshold current to standard values. On the other hand, in recent years, when such light emitting devices are applied to the information processing field, they are often used in an array format. However, it is extremely difficult to align all the characteristics of the arrayed light emitting elements to the standard values of a single element, and there is a problem in that it is difficult to obtain a practical level array element.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and is an arrayed waveguide type external modulation element for continuous or pulse-modulated oscillation light emitted from a light source such as a single semiconductor laser. A device is inserted between a light emitting source and a plurality of optical fibers or an array transmission path consisting of optical transmission paths, and the waveguide device is mounted on an optical crystal of either an electro-optic crystal or a magneto-optic crystal. , a waveguide having at least a main waveguide section into which light from a light emitting source is incident, and a plurality of first to nth branch waveguide sections sequentially branching from the main waveguide section, and the nth branch waveguide section or the first branch waveguide section. A modulator or an optical switch is provided corresponding to a branch part of the n-branch waveguide part, and the light incident on the main waveguide part from the light emitting source is transmitted from the first branch waveguide part to the n-th branch waveguide part. The present invention provides a light source array device characterized in that the light is sequentially branched into the n-th branch waveguide section and guided to the optical fiber or optical transmission line.

The inventor of the present application discovered that by adding a waveguide type modulation element that utilizes electro-optic effect and magneto-optic effect to a single light source, it has the same function as the above-mentioned arrayed light source, This is a practical and meaningful proposal.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the entire device inserted between the semiconductor laser 1 and the fiber array 6. As shown in FIG. A semiconductor laser 1 is coupled to a main waveguide 3-3' shown in 2, which is formed on an electro-optic crystal (for example, LiNbO ₃ ) by a method such as Ti diffusion.
The guided light passes from the main waveguide to the first branch waveguides 40, 4.
Second branch waveguides 400, 410, which are sequentially branched to 1, 42, and 43 and correspond to the n-th branch waveguides, respectively.
420 and 430, and is modulated by an external signal by modulators 50, 51, 52, and 53 for external modulation provided corresponding to each of the n-th branch waveguides, and then transmitted to the fiber array 6. be done.
As shown in the plan view in Fig. 2, the light branched into the branch waveguide passes through modulators or switches indicated by 50, 51, 52, and 53 for each channel before being guided to the fiber array. . This modulator may be any type of electro-optic waveguide modulation/switch element such as a Y-branch type, a directional coupler type, or a total reflection type.

It is generally known that a modulation/switching element using an electro-optic effect exhibits extremely high-speed characteristics in the form of a waveguide, and an arrayed modulator having such a structure has extremely good frequency characteristics. The signal light modulated by each electro-optic modulator provided in the branch waveguide is propagated to the fiber array, but since these signals are independent and non-interfering, they appear as if they were semiconductors. It functions like an array of lasers. Also,
It is possible to increase the power in the fiber to the required level by considering the coupling efficiency from the semiconductor laser 1 to the main waveguide 3 and from the modulators or switches 50, 51, 52, 53 to the fiber array 6 and the loss at the branching section. It is.

The above functions can also be realized with other waveguide circuit configurations.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the present invention, in which 1 is a semiconductor laser, 3 is a main waveguide, and 40 and 41 are a first waveguide.
Branch waveguides, 400, 401, 410, 411 are second branch waveguides, 4000, 4010, 410
0 and 4110 are third branch waveguides corresponding to the n-th waveguide, and 50, 51, 52, and 53 are modulators, realizing an arrayed light source similarly to the embodiment shown in FIG.

It is also possible to replace the modulation principle of the present invention with a magneto-optic effect using YIG or the like.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a light source arraying device of the present invention;
FIG. 2 shows a plan view thereof, and FIG. 3 shows a plan view of another embodiment of the present invention. 1... Semiconductor laser, 2... LiNbO ₃ substrate, 3
... Main waveguide, 40-43, 400, 401, 4
10,411,421,431,4000,40
10,4100,4110...Branch waveguide, 6...
...Fiber array, 50, 51, 52, 53...
Modulation switch electrode.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. As an external modulator for continuous or pulse-modulated oscillation light emitted from a single light emitting source such as a semiconductor laser, an arrayed waveguide device is used as an external modulator for continuous or pulse-modulated oscillation light emitted from a light emitting source such as a single semiconductor laser. The waveguide device is inserted between an optical fiber or an array transmission line consisting of an optical transmission line, and the waveguide device is inserted between an optical fiber or an array transmission line consisting of an optical transmission line, and the waveguide device is placed on either an electro-optic crystal or a magneto-optic crystal. A waveguide having a main waveguide portion into which light is incident, and a plurality of first to n-th branch waveguide portions sequentially branching from the main waveguide portion, and the n-th branch waveguide portion or the n-th branch waveguide portion. A modulator or an optical switch is provided corresponding to the branching portion, and the light entering the main waveguide portion from the light emitting source is sequentially branched from the first branching waveguide portion to the n-th branching waveguide portion. A light source arraying device characterized in that light is guided from the n-th branch waveguide section to the optical fiber or optical transmission line. 2. The light source arraying device according to claim 1, wherein the modulator or optical switch is one of a Y-branching type, a directional coupling type, and a total reflection type.