Patents Examined by Yuanda Zhang
  • Patent number: 11342722
    Abstract: Laser systems and methods are disclosed. One laser system comprises: a plurality of laser resonators, each resonator being operable to discharge an input laser beam; a relay assembly including at least one curved reflective surface that redirects each input laser beam, and reduces a beam size of the redirected beam; a galvo including a curved reflective surface that receives each redirected beam, and outputs a combined laser beam at power level greater than a power level of each laser input beam; and a coupling assembly that reduces spherical aberrations in the combined laser beam, and directs the combined laser beam into an optical fiber. In this system, the combined laser beam may have a maximum beam parameter product lower than a minimum beam parameter product of the optical fiber. Related systems and methods are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2022
    Assignee: Boston Scientific Scimed, Inc.
    Inventor: Honggang Yu
  • Patent number: 11336076
    Abstract: A laser diode driver circuit includes a first pair of contacts and connectors coupled to an anode of the laser diode. An inductance of each of the first pair of contacts and connectors is the same. A second pair of contacts and connectors are coupled to a cathode of the laser diode. An inductance of each of the second pair of contacts and connectors is the same. The laser diode driver circuit also includes current driving circuitry.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2022
    Assignees: STMICROELECTRONICS (RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT) LIMITED, STMICROELECTRONICS (GRENOBLE 2) SAS
    Inventors: Denise Lee, Neale Dutton, Nicolas Moeneclaey, Jerome Andriot-Ballet
  • Patent number: 11336078
    Abstract: A semiconductor laser diode is specified, the semiconductor laser diode includes a semiconductor layer sequence having an active layer which has a main extension plane and which, in operation, is adapted to generate light in an active region and to emit light via a light-outcoupling surface, the active region extending from a rear surface opposite the light-outcoupling surface to the light-outcoupling surface along a longitudinal direction in the main extension plane, the semiconductor layer sequence having a surface region on which a first cladding layer is applied in direct contact, the first cladding layer having a transparent material from a material system different from the semiconductor layer sequence, and the first cladding layer being structured and having a first structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 17, 2022
    Assignee: OSRAM OLED GmbH
    Inventors: Sven Gerhard, Christoph Eichler, Alfred Lell, Bernhard Stojetz
  • Patent number: 11322910
    Abstract: An optoelectronic device includes a carrier substrate, with a lower distributed Bragg-reflector (DBR) stack disposed on an area of the substrate and including alternating first dielectric and semiconductor layers. A set of epitaxial layers is disposed over the lower DBR, wherein the set of epitaxial layers includes one or more III-V semiconductor materials and defines a quantum well structure and a confinement layer. An upper DBR stack is disposed over the set of epitaxial layers and includes alternating second dielectric and semiconductor layers. Electrodes are coupled to apply an excitation current to the quantum well structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2022
    Assignee: APPLE INC.
    Inventors: Jae Y. Park, Arnaud Laflaquière, Christophe Vérove, Fei Tan
  • Patent number: 11309670
    Abstract: An electro-optical interface system is disclosed which incorporates a housing, an electrical circuit supported from the housing and configured to interface to a plurality of remote electrical components, an electronics subsystem and an optical subsystem. The electronics subsystem is housed within the housing and in communication with the electrical circuit. The optical subsystem is housed within the housing and in communication with the electronics subsystem. The optical subsystem receives electrical signals from the electronics subsystem which are representative of electrical signals received from the remote electrical components, and converts the received electrical signals into optical signals for transmission to a remote subsystem.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 3, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2022
    Assignee: Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC
    Inventors: Susant Patra, Razi-Ul Muhammad Haque, Komal Kampasi
  • Patent number: 11309681
    Abstract: A mount member includes first and second conduction parts. In the first conduction part, as seen in a top view, a length in a first direction parallel to an emission end surface of a first semiconductor laser element is smaller than a length in a second direction perpendicular to the emission end surface, and, in relation to the second direction, a first wiring region extends from a first mounting region in a direction from the light emission end surface to an opposite end surface. In relation to the second direction, a second conduction part extends further than the first conduction part in a direction from an emission end surface to an opposite end surface of a second semiconductor laser element, and from a region where the second conduction part extends further than the first conduction part, the second conduction part extends toward the first conduction part in the first direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2022
    Assignee: NICHIA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Masatoshi Nakagaki, Soichiro Miura
  • Patent number: 11309685
    Abstract: Some embodiments relate to a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) device including a VCSEL structure overlying a substrate. The VCSEL structure includes a first reflector, a second reflector, and an optically active region disposed between the first and second reflectors. A first spacer laterally encloses the second reflector. The first spacer comprises a first plurality of protrusions disposed along a sidewall of the second reflector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 14, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2022
    Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Chen Yu Chen, Ming Chyi Liu, Jhih-Bin Chen
  • Patent number: 11309686
    Abstract: A surface emitting laser includes: a semiconductor layer containing a nitride semiconductor, and including a first semiconductor layer, an active layer, and a second semiconductor layer that are stacked in this order, in which the semiconductor layer includes a light emitting region; and a first light reflecting layer and a second light reflecting layer that are opposed to each other with the semiconductor layer being disposed therebetween. The first semiconductor layer has a high dislocation portion disposed outside the light emitting region. The high dislocation portion has an average dislocation density higher than an average dislocation density of the light emitting region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 19, 2022
    Assignee: SONY CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hiroshi Nakajima, Tatsushi Hamaguchi, Jugo Mitomo, Susumu Sato, Masamichi Ito, Hidekazu Kawanishi
  • Patent number: 11298057
    Abstract: A spectroscopic laser sensor based on hybrid III-V/IV system-on-a-chip technology. The laser sensor is configured to either (i) be used with a fiber-optic probe connected to an intravenous/intra-arterial optical catheter for direct invasive blood analyte concentration level measurement or (ii) be used to measure blood analyte concentration level non-invasively through an optical interface attached, e.g., to the skin or fingernail bed of a human. The sensor includes a III-V gain-chip, e.g., an AlGaInAsSb/GaSb based gain-chip and a photonic integrated circuit, with laser wavelength filtering, laser wavelength tuning, laser wavelength monitoring, laser signal monitoring and signal output sections realized on a chip by combining IV-based semiconductor substrates and flip-chip AlGaInAsSb/GaSb based photodetectors and embedded electronics for signal processing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2022
    Assignees: Brolis Sensor Technology, UAB, Universiteit Gent, IMEC VZW
    Inventors: Augustinas Vizbaras, Kristijonas Vizbaras, Ieva {hacek over (S)}imonytė, Günther Roelkens
  • Patent number: 11296480
    Abstract: It is an object to provide a technique of achieving a high in-plane mounting density of a laser light source element and capable of adjusting a position of a lens for each laser light source element with a high degree of accuracy. A laser light source apparatus 1 includes: a base; a plurality of semiconductor laser elements; a plurality of lenses parallelizing laser light being output from the plurality of laser light source elements; a spacer disposed on the upper surface of the base; and an adhesive agent fixing the plurality of lenses to the spacer. The spacer includes, for each of the lenses, an annular support surface and a wall, and the wall has a clearance groove formed along a direction connecting diagonal points of the lattice points.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 31, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2022
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Mitsuaki Futami
  • Patent number: 11296484
    Abstract: A bound states in the continuum (BIC) surface emitting laser includes a light emitter configured to generate BIC light waves. The laser also includes an array of holes with equal radii extending through the light emitter such that light emitted by the light emitter upon receipt of power is emitted as a coherent vortex beam at an angle to a surface normal of the light emitter that is determined at least in part by the radius of the holes in the array.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2022
    Assignee: THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
    Inventors: Boubacar Kante, Babak Bahari
  • Patent number: 11289877
    Abstract: An optical system can lock a wavelength of a tunable laser to a specified wavelength of a temperature-insensitive spectral profile of a spectral filter. In some examples, the spectral filter, such as a Fabry-Perot filter, can have a temperature-insensitive peak wavelength and increasing attenuation at wavelengths away from the peak wavelength. The spectral filter can spectrally filter the laser light to form filtered laser light. A detector can detect at least a fraction of the filtered laser light. Circuitry coupled to the detector and the laser can tune the tunable laser to set a signal from the detector to a specified value corresponding to a specified wavelength in the spectral profile, and thereby adjust the selectable wavelength of the tunable laser to match the specified wavelength. In some examples, the optical system can include a polarization rotator, and can use polarization to separate incident light from return light.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2022
    Assignee: Aurrion, Inc.
    Inventors: Brian R. Koch, Jonathan Edgar Roth
  • Patent number: 11283241
    Abstract: A reflector for optical devices is disclosed. The reflector includes a distributed Bragg reflector and a metal reflector. The metal reflector is contained within one or more apertures defined by a material having good adliesion to a semiconductor material. A method for bonding the resulting structure to a heat spreader is also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2022
    Assignee: Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of University of Arizona
    Inventors: Alexandre Laurain, Jerome V. Moloney, Patrick Kokou Gbele
  • Patent number: 11283244
    Abstract: A topological laser system is described. The laser system comprises an array of optical elements arranged in an array and coupled between them such that the array is configured for supporting one or more topological modes. The plurality of optical elements comprises optical elements carrying gain material configured for emitting optical radiation in response to pumping energy. The laser system further comprises a pumping unit configured to provide pumping of a group of the optical elements of the array within at least a portion of the spatial region corresponding with said topological mode; and at least one output port optically coupled to one or more of the optical elements associated with said topological mode. The at least one output ports is configured for extracting a portion of light intensity from said laser system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2022
    Assignees: TECHNION RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION, LTD., THE UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA RESEARCH FOUNDATION, INC.
    Inventors: Mordechai Segev, Gal Harari, Demetrios N. Christodoulides, Miguel Angel Bandres Motola
  • Patent number: 11283243
    Abstract: A method for manufacturing a surface emitting laser made of a group-III nitride semiconductor by an MOVPE method includes: (a) growing a first cladding layer of a first conductive type on a substrate; (b) growing a first optical guide layer of the first conductive type on the first cladding layer; (c) forming holes having a two-dimensional periodicity in a plane parallel to the first optical guide layer, in the first optical guide layer by etching; (d) supplying a gas containing a group-III material and a nitrogen source and performing growth to form recessed portions having a facet of a predetermined plane direction above openings of the holes, thereby closing the openings of the holes; and (e) planarizing the recessed portions by mass transport, after the openings of the holes have been closed, wherein after the planarizing at least one side surface of the holes is a {10-10} facet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2022
    Assignees: KYOTO UNIVERSITY, STANLEY ELECTRIC CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Susumu Noda, Yoshinori Tanaka, Menaka De Zoysa, Junichi Sonoda, Tomoaki Koizumi, Kei Emoto
  • Patent number: 11276988
    Abstract: A semiconductor optical device that achieves both of heat dissipation and light confinement and permits efficient current injection or application of an electric field is implemented. The semiconductor optical device includes: a core layer including an active region (1) made of a compound semiconductor; two cladding layers (5, 6) injecting current into the core layer; and a third cladding layer (4) made of a material having a larger thermal conductivity, a smaller refractive index, and a larger band gap than a material for any of the core layer and the two cladding layers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2022
    Assignee: NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE CORPORATION
    Inventors: Ryo Nakao, Takaaki Kakitsuka, Shinji Matsuo
  • Patent number: 11276980
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for passively synchronising the repetition rate of two or more mode-locked lasers is described. The method and apparatus involve forming a first synchronising optical field (6) by separating a portion of an output field of a first mode-locked laser (2) and thereafter redirecting this synchronising optical field to form a driving signal for a second mode-locked laser (3). Employing these techniques results in systems with timing jitter of less than 1 fs. The method is independent of the wavelength and polarisation at which the mode-locked lasers operate and so is not limited to use with any particular type of mode-locked laser. Since the technique is passive it does not require the employment of electronics, variable time delay paths or additional non-linear optical crystals. Therefore, the method and apparatus are significantly less complex than those known in the art and are not power limited by additional non-linear optical processes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 15, 2022
    Assignee: M SQUARED LASERS LIMITED
    Inventors: Gareth Thomas Maker, Graeme Peter Alexander Malcolm, Lukasz Kornaszewski
  • Patent number: 11271363
    Abstract: A package structure for the multi-channel parallel transmission optical device includes a package base, a package cap which is used to form a package shell with the package base, and a plurality of laser generating units that are all mounted on the package base and arranged annularly relative to the axis of the package base. Each laser generating unit is equipped with an optical mirror group to convert the laser emitted by the laser generating unit into the laser beam parallel to the axis of the package base. A converging lens is also configured inside or outside the package shell, or the package cap uses the converging lens as an optical window, and to converge each laser beam into output beam. The optical path design can significantly reduce the device package volume, which correspondingly increases the channel density.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2022
    Assignee: LINKTEL TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Ren Wan, Linke Li, Tianshu Wu, Xianwen Yang, Jian Zhang
  • Patent number: 11264777
    Abstract: A semiconductor laser tuned with an acousto-optic modulator. The acousto-optic modulator may generate standing waves or traveling waves. When traveling waves are used, a second acousto-optic modulator may be used in a reverse orientation to cancel out a chirp created in the first acousto-optic modulator. The acousto-optic modulator may be used with standing-wave laser resonators or ring lasers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 3, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2022
    Assignee: PRANALYTICA, INC.
    Inventors: C. Kumar N. Patel, Arkadiy Lyakh
  • Patent number: 11264781
    Abstract: A manufacturing method for an optical semiconductor device includes: forming a first semiconductor layer; forming a first mask pattern on the first semiconductor layer in a first area where an electro absorption type modulator is formed; forming an unevenness along the first direction on the first semiconductor layer; forming a second semiconductor layer on the unevenness; and forming an optical waveguide layer on the second semiconductor layer. The first mask pattern includes a first pattern in the first area and a second pattern in a second area where a DFB laser is formed, the first pattern including a first opening pattern and a first cover pattern, and the second pattern including a second opening pattern and a second cover pattern, and a ratio of the first opening pattern to the first cover pattern is different from that of the second opening pattern to the second cover pattern.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2022
    Assignee: SUMITOMO ELECTRIC DEVICE INNOVATIONS, INC.
    Inventors: Kazuhiro Yamaji, Takayuki Watanabe