Patents by Inventor Christopher Doerr

Christopher Doerr has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Multichannel coherent transceiver and related apparatus and methods
    Patent number: 10097271
    Abstract: A multi-channel optical transceiver is disclosed. The optical transceiver has a multi-package structure. A laser array is disposed in one package. An application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) and photonic integrated circuit (PIC) are disposed in another package. An optical fiber array may couple the first package and second package together.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2018
    Assignee: Acacia Communications, Inc.
    Inventor: Christopher Doerr
  • Segmented traveling wave optical modulators and related methods
    Patent number: 10088733
    Abstract: A segmented traveling wave Mach Zehnder optical modulator is described. The segmented traveling wave Mach Zehnder optical modulator may comprise two or more radio frequency (RF) segments, and each RF segment may be configured to support a modulating RF signal. The modulating RF signals may be configured to modulate an optical signal propagating along an optical path of the segmented traveling wave Mach Zehnder optical modulator. The RF modulating signal in the second RF segment may be generated by amplifying the modulating RF signal of the first RF segment, using an RF amplifier. The RF amplifier may be configured to amplify a band-pass spectral portion of the modulating RF signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2018
    Assignee: Acacia Communications, Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher Doerr, Ricardo Aroca, Long Chen
  • Advanced optical modulation generation by combining orthogonal polarized optical signals
    Patent number: 10078232
    Abstract: Optical modulators and modulation techniques for advanced optical modulation formats are described. An optical modulator may include two optical modulators in parallel optical paths, and optical powers in the two paths may be unequal. Polarization in the two paths may be orthogonal, and modulated outputs from each path may be combined to produce multilevel modulation formats.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 18, 2018
    Assignee: Acacia Communications, Inc.
    Inventors: Diedrik Vermeulen, Christopher Doerr
  • Multi-core optical cable to photonic circuit coupler
    Patent number: 10078190
    Abstract: An optical device includes an array of optical grating couplers and a plurality of single-core fiber couplers located over a planar substrate. The optical grating couplers of the array are located to optically couple in a one-to-one manner to optical cores of a multi-core fiber or optical cable having an end located adjacent to the surface. Each single-core fiber coupler includes a planar optical waveguide connecting a corresponding one of the optical couplers of the array to an edge of the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 24, 2011
    Date of Patent: September 18, 2018
    Assignee: Alcatel Lucent
    Inventors: Christopher Doerr, Peter Winzer
  • Integrated high-power tunable laser with adjustable outputs
    Patent number: 10079472
    Abstract: A tunable laser that includes an array of parallel optical amplifiers is described. The laser may also include an intracavity N×M coupler that couples power between a cavity mirror and the array of parallel optical amplifiers. Phase adjusters in optical paths between the N×M coupler and the optical amplifiers can be used to adjust an amount of power output from M?1 ports of the N×M coupler. A tunable wavelength filter is incorporated in the laser cavity to select a lasing wavelength.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2016
    Date of Patent: September 18, 2018
    Assignee: Acacia Communications, Inc.
    Inventor: Christopher Doerr
  • CO-PACKAGING PHOTONIC INTEGRATED CIRCUITS AND APPLICATION SPECIFIC INTEGRATED CIRCUITS
    Publication number: 20180203187
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are designs, structures and techniques for advanced packaging of multi-function photonic integrated circuits that allow such high-performance multi-function photonic integrated circuits to be co-packaged with a high-performance multi-function ASIC thereby significantly reducing strenuous interconnect challenges and lowering costs, power and size of the overall devices.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 12, 2018
    Publication date: July 19, 2018
    Applicant: Acacia Communications, Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher Doerr, Eric Swanson, Diedrik Vermeulen, Saeid Azemati, Jon Stahl
  • Silicon photonics multicarrier optical transceiver
    Patent number: 10009106
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are techniques, methods, structures and apparatus that provide a silicon photonics multicarrier optical transceiver wherein both the transmitter and receiver are integrated on a single silicon chip and which generates a plurality of carriers through the effect of an on-chip modulator, amplifies the optical power of the carriers through the effect of an off-chip amplifier, and generates M orthogonal sets of carriers through the effect of an on-chip basis former.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2018
    Assignee: Acacia Communications, Inc.
    Inventor: Christopher Doerr
  • Silicon depletion modulators with enhanced slab doping
    Patent number: 9989787
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are methods, structures, and devices for a silicon carrier-depletion based modulator with enhanced doping in at least part of slab regions between waveguide core and contact areas. Compared to prior designs, this modulator exhibits lower optical absorption loss and better modulation bandwidth without sacrificing the modulation efficiency when operating at comparable bandwidth settings.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2018
    Assignee: Acacia Communications, Inc.
    Inventors: Long Chen, Christopher Doerr
  • Wafer-scale testing of photonic integrated circuits using horizontal spot-size converters
    Patent number: 9922887
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are methods, structures, and devices for wafer scale testing of photonic integrated circuits.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2013
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2018
    Assignee: Acacia Communications, Inc.
    Inventors: Diedrik Vermeulen, Long Chen, Christopher Doerr
  • SEGMENTED TRAVELING WAVE OPTICAL MODULATORS AND RELATED METHODS
    Publication number: 20180039151
    Abstract: A segmented traveling wave Mach Zehnder optical modulator is described. The segmented traveling wave Mach Zehnder optical modulator may comprise two or more radio frequency (RF) segments, and each RF segment may be configured to support a modulating RF signal. The modulating RF signals may be configured to modulate an optical signal propagating along an optical path of the segmented traveling wave Mach Zehnder optical modulator. The RF modulating signal in the second RF segment may be generated by amplifying the modulating RF signal of the first RF segment, using an RF amplifier. The RF amplifier may be configured to amplify a band-pass spectral portion of the modulating RF signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 8, 2016
    Publication date: February 8, 2018
    Applicant: Acacia Communications, Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher Doerr, Ricardo Aroca, Long Chen
  • OPTICAL LOOPBACK CIRCUITS FOR TRANSCEIVERS AND RELATED METHODS
    Publication number: 20180041282
    Abstract: Optical transceivers comprising optical loopback circuits are described. The optical transceiver may comprise a housing, which may host a transmitter, a receiver and the optical loopback circuit. The optical loopback circuit may be configured to route at least a portion of a modulated optical signal from the transmitter to the receiver. The optical loopback circuit may comprise tap couplers and/or optical switches. The optical transceiver may be switched between a normal mode and a calibration mode. The optical transceiver may maintain the same fiber connections even when the optical transceiver is switched from one mode to another. The transmitter, the receiver and the optical loopback circuit may be disposed on a common substrate, or on separate substrates.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 4, 2016
    Publication date: February 8, 2018
    Applicant: Acacia Communications, Inc.
    Inventors: Long Chen, Christopher Doerr
  • Co-packaging photonic integrated circuits and application specific integrated circuits
    Patent number: 9874688
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are designs, structures and techniques for advanced packaging of multi-function photonic integrated circuits that allow such high-performance multi-function photonic integrated circuits to be co-packaged with a high-performance multi-function ASIC thereby significantly reducing strenuous interconnect challenges and lowering costs, power and size of the overall devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 23, 2018
    Assignee: Acacia Communications, Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher Doerr, Eric Swanson, Diedrik Vermeulen, Saeid Azemati, Jon Stahl
  • CANTILEVERS WITH ONE- OR TWO-DIMENSIONAL ACTUATION FOR ON-CHIP ACTIVE WAVEGUIDE COUPLING ALIGNMENT
    Publication number: 20180003899
    Abstract: Photonic integrated circuits including controllable cantilevers are described. Such photonic integrated circuits may be used in connection with other optical devices, in which light is transferred between the photonic integrated circuit and one of these optical device. The photonic integrated circuit may comprise an optical waveguide having an end disposed proximate to a facet of the cantilever. The orientation of the cantilever may be actively controlled in one or two dimensions, thus adjusting the orientation of the optical waveguide. Actuation of the cantilever may be performed, for example, thermally and/or electrostatically. Orientation of the cantilever may be performed in such a way to align the optical waveguide with an optical device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 30, 2017
    Publication date: January 4, 2018
    Applicant: Acacia Communications, Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher Doerr, Li Chen, Long Chen
  • Through transmission path on photonic circuits for optical alignment
    Patent number: 9829659
    Abstract: A photonic integrated circuit (PIC) may be optically aligned to a plurality of optical components (e.g., an optical fiber array). Optical alignment may be facilitated by the use of an optical impedance element coupled between a first input/output (I/O) optical waveguide and a second I/O optical waveguide of the PIC. The optical impedance element me be configured to be transmissive during optical alignment and to be non-transmissive during the regular operation of the PIC.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 17, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 28, 2017
    Assignee: Acacia Communications, Inc.
    Inventors: Long Chen, Christopher Doerr, Diedrik Vermeulen
  • Modulation-based integrated broadband optical isolator with improved isolation
    Patent number: 9823496
    Abstract: An optical isolator for suppressing back reflections from a downstream optical system is described. The optical isolator includes a plurality of optical paths between a splitter and a combiner. One or more of the optical paths include two phase modulators that are driven by oscillating signals having predefined phase relationships. At least one bypass optical path does not include two phase modulators driven by oscillating signals. Amplitude and phase of an optical signal traversing the bypass optical path may be tuned to further suppress residual reflections from a downstream optical system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2015
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2017
    Assignee: Acacia Communications, Inc.
    Inventor: Christopher Doerr
  • Alternating traveling-wave Mach-Zehnder modulator
    Patent number: 9817249
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a traveling-wave Mach-Zehnder modulator and method of operating same that advantageously exhibits a reduced optical insertion loss as compared with contemporary Mach-Zehnder structures. Such advantage comes at the modest expense of increased modulator length and increased RF loss.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2017
    Assignee: Acacia Communications, Inc.
    Inventor: Christopher Doerr
  • Optical compensation using a space division multiplexing electro-optic receiver
    Patent number: 9806839
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are methods, structures, and devices for optical communications systems operating through turbulent media. More specifically, a spatial division multiplexing photonic integrated circuit is used in conjunction with digital signal processing systems to mitigate the effects of the turbulent media.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2017
    Assignee: Acacia Communications, Inc.
    Inventors: Eric Swanson, Christopher Doerr, Graeme Pendock
  • FILLING A CAVITY THROUGH A RESERVOIR AND A FEED-CHANNEL AND RELATED APPARATUS AND METHODS
    Publication number: 20170293073
    Abstract: Aspects of the present application provide an optical device comprising a suspended optical component over a cavity, such as an undercut region in a substrate. The cavity is filled with a filler material. In some embodiments, the optical device and a method may be provided to fill the cavity with the filler material using a reservoir and a channel in the substrate connecting the reservoir to the cavity to be filled.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 7, 2017
    Publication date: October 12, 2017
    Applicant: Acacia Communications, Inc.
    Inventors: Long Chen, Christopher Doerr
  • SILICON MODULATORS AND RELATED APPARATUS AND METHODS
    Publication number: 20170285437
    Abstract: An optical Mach Zehnder modulator is described. The optical Mach Zehnder modulator may comprise a plurality of segments separated by curved waveguides. For example, an optical Mach Zehnder modulator may comprise a first waveguide arm having a first pn-junction formed therein, a second waveguide arm having a second pn-junction formed therein, a third waveguide arm coupled to the first waveguide arm via a first curved waveguide and a fourth waveguide arm coupled to the second waveguide arm via a second curved waveguide. The segments may have the same polarities. Alternatively, the segments may have opposite polarities. The different segments may be driven using different RF signals. The RF signals may be delayed from one another.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 29, 2017
    Publication date: October 5, 2017
    Applicant: Acacia Communications, Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher Doerr, Long Chen, Ricardo Aroca
  • SILICON DEPLETION MODULATORS WITH ENHANCED SLAB DOPING
    Publication number: 20170248806
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are methods, structures, and devices for a silicon carrier-depletion based modulator with enhanced doping in at least part of slab regions between waveguide core and contact areas. Compared to prior designs, this modulator exhibits lower optical absorption loss and better modulation bandwidth without sacrificing the modulation efficiency when operating at comparable bandwidth settings.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 10, 2017
    Publication date: August 31, 2017
    Applicant: Acacia Communications, Inc.
    Inventors: Long Chen, Christopher Doerr