Patents by Inventor Brent Little

Brent Little 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).

  • Patent number: 7973265
    Abstract: An integrated optical device is disclosed comprising a substrate, optical waveguide, and compound optical resonator having a temperature sensor, at least two coupled optical resonators, and a heater localized to each optical resonator. An optical input signal is coupled to one of the resonators making up the compound resonator to form an optical output signal. The center wavelength and shape of the output signal is optimized with a feedback loop using the temperature sensor to control the power dissipated in at least one of the localized heaters. The power dissipated in the remaining resonator heaters is set according to a predetermined function having as an input variable the power dissipated in the resonant heater under control of the said feedback loop.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 5, 2011
    Assignee: Infinera Corporation
    Inventors: Sai Chu, Frederick G. Johnson, Oliver King, Marcus Schuetz, Brent Little
  • Patent number: 7903910
    Abstract: An integrated optical device is disclosed comprising a substrate, optical waveguide, and compound optical resonator having a temperature sensor, at least two coupled optical resonators, and a heater localized to each optical resonator. An optical input signal is coupled to one of the resonators making up the compound resonator to form an optical output signal. The center wavelength and shape of the output signal is optimized with a feedback loop using the temperature sensor to control the power dissipated in at least one of the localized heaters. The power dissipated in the remaining resonator heaters is set according to a predetermined function having as an input variable the power dissipated in the resonant heater under control of the said feedback loop.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2011
    Assignee: Infinera Corporation
    Inventors: Sai Chu, Frederick G. Johnson, Oliver King, Marcus Schuetz, Brent Little
  • Publication number: 20090314763
    Abstract: An integrated optical device is disclosed comprising a substrate, optical waveguide, and compound optical resonator having a temperature sensor, at least two coupled optical resonators, and a heater localized to each optical resonator. An optical input signal is coupled to one of the resonators making up the compound resonator to form an optical output signal. The center wavelength and shape of the output signal is optimized with a feedback loop using the temperature sensor to control the power dissipated in at least one of the localized heaters. The power dissipated in the remaining resonator heaters is set according to a predetermined function having as an input variable the power dissipated in the resonant heater under control of the said feedback loop.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 31, 2009
    Publication date: December 24, 2009
    Inventors: Sai Chu, Frederick G. Johnson, Oliver King, Marcus Schuetz, Brent Little
  • Patent number: 7583879
    Abstract: An integrated optical device is disclosed comprising a substrate, optical waveguide, and compound optical resonator having a temperature sensor, at least two coupled optical resonators, and a heater localized to each optical resonator. An optical input signal is coupled to one of the resonators making up the compound resonator to form an optical output signal. The center wavelength and shape of the output signal is optimized with a feedback loop using the temperature sensor to control the power dissipated in at least one of the localized heaters. The power dissipated in the remaining resonator heaters is set according to a predetermined function having as an input variable the power dissipated in the resonant heater under control of the said feedback loop.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 7, 2007
    Date of Patent: September 1, 2009
    Assignee: Infinera Corporation
    Inventors: Sai Chu, Frederick G. Johnson, Oliver King, Marcus Schuetz, Brent Little
  • Publication number: 20080175538
    Abstract: An integrated optical device is disclosed comprising a substrate, optical waveguide, and compound optical resonator having a temperature sensor, at least two coupled optical resonators, and a heater localized to each optical resonator. An optical input signal is coupled to one of the resonators making up the compound resonator to form an optical output signal. The center wavelength and shape of the output signal is optimized with a feedback loop using the temperature sensor to control the power dissipated in at least one of the localized heaters.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 28, 2008
    Publication date: July 24, 2008
    Inventors: Sai Chu, Frederick G. Johnson, Oliver King, Marcus Schuetz, Brent Little
  • Patent number: 7356221
    Abstract: An integrated optical device is disclosed comprising a substrate, optical waveguide, and compound optical resonator having a temperature sensor, at least two coupled optical resonators, and a heater localized to each optical resonator. An optical input signal is coupled to one of the resonators making up the compound resonator to form an optical output signal. The center wavelength and shape of the output signal is optimized with a feedback loop using the temperature sensor to control the power dissipated in at least one of the localized heaters. The power dissipated in the remaining resonator heaters is set according to a predetermined function having as an input variable the power dissipated in the resonant heater under control of the said feedback loop.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 7, 2007
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2008
    Assignee: Infinera Corporation
    Inventors: Sai Chu, Frederick G. Johnson, Oliver King, Marcus Schuetz, Brent Little
  • Publication number: 20080025665
    Abstract: A method of using a passive polarization sorter comprising the step of deploying a first waveguide and a second waveguide forming an adiabatic region along a portion of their length. Then, an input optical signal is introduced into the first waveguide wherein light having at least one guided TE polarized mode of mode ranking mode-i-TE and at least one guided TM polarized mode of mode ranking mode-j-TM remaining within the first waveguide. Light having the other one of the TE and TM polarized modes is evanescently coupled into the second waveguide in the adiabatic region.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 7, 2007
    Publication date: January 31, 2008
    Inventor: Brent Little
  • Publication number: 20080019637
    Abstract: A polarization beam splitter-polarization rotator-polarization beam combiner optical structure comprising a pair of polarization rotators having a polarization beam splitter associated with the input ends of the two polarization rotators, and a polarization beam combiner associated with output ends of the two polarization rotators, and a method of purifying a light signal comprising TE and TM modes by disassociating the primary TE and TM modes from first order splitter and rotation error components.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 24, 2007
    Publication date: January 24, 2008
    Inventors: Brent Little, Wei Chen
  • Publication number: 20070297715
    Abstract: A plurality of mask images defines an optical circuit image in photoresist. Each of the mask images comprises parts of the optical circuit and the totality of all mask images together defines an optical circuit. The optical circuit is thus made up of plural optical elements some of which may be positioned in drop-in locations within the boundary of another optical circuit element. A photolithography system globally aligns and exposes the mask images in photoresist. The resultant composite image is substantially indistinguishable from a single image of the entire optical circuit. Different images for each of the mask image parts can be substituted with other images or image parts and thereby exponentially increasing the number of circuit permutations from a predetermined number of available mask images. A unique optical circuit, for example, can be generated from a pre-existing library of reticle images. The images are printed in predetermined locations on a substrate to define the desired optical circuit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 5, 2007
    Publication date: December 27, 2007
    Applicant: INFINERA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Brent Little, John Hryniewicz, David Gill, Roy Davidson, Philippe Absil
  • Publication number: 20070258714
    Abstract: The present invention provides a WDM optical system that includes a tunable filter for selecting one or more optical channels from a WDM optical signal. A portion of a WDM signal enters a first optical filter stage that exhibits a periodic transmission spectrum and possesses individually tunable filter elements. A second optical filter stage receives throughput from the first filter stage and has a periodic transmission spectrum and individually tunable filter elements. A controller electrically communicates with the optical filter to select individual optical channels from the portion of the wavelength division multiplexed optical signal received through the filter input port; each selected optical channel is output via a filter throughput port. In an exemplary embodiment, each tunable filter element is a micro-ring resonator and the micro-ring resonators in the first filter stage have a different free spectral range (FSR) than the micro-ring resonators of the second filter stage.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 8, 2003
    Publication date: November 8, 2007
    Inventors: Brent Little, Lance Joneckis
  • Publication number: 20070230873
    Abstract: A broadband optical via provides a low loss interconnection between waveguides in two vertically adjacent planar waveguiding layers. Two waveguides, one in each planar layer, evanescently interact over an interaction length, and substantially all of the power on one waveguide is transferred to the second waveguide. The relative detuning between waveguides is varied along the interaction region by tapering the width of one or both guides along the direction of propagation. The interaction strength is also varied by varying the physical separation between the two waveguides such that the interaction approaches zero near the two ends of the interaction length. The performance of the broadband optical via is fabrication tolerant, polarization tolerant, wavelength tolerant, and dimensionally tolerant.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 1, 2007
    Publication date: October 4, 2007
    Applicant: INFINERA CORPORATION
    Inventor: Brent Little
  • Publication number: 20070211992
    Abstract: An integrated optical device is disclosed comprising a substrate, optical waveguide, and compound optical resonator having a temperature sensor, at least two coupled optical resonators, and a heater localized to each optical resonator. An optical input signal is coupled to one of the resonators making up the compound resonator to form an optical output signal. The center wavelength and shape of the output signal is optimized with a feedback loop using the temperature sensor to control the power dissipated in at least one of the localized heaters.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 7, 2007
    Publication date: September 13, 2007
    Inventors: Sai chu, Frederick Johnson, Oliver King, Marcus Shuetz, Brent Little
  • Publication number: 20070206899
    Abstract: An integrated optical device is disclosed comprising a substrate, optical waveguide, and compound optical resonator having a temperature sensor, at least two coupled optical resonators, and a heater localized to each optical resonator. An optical input signal is coupled to one of the resonators making up the compound resonator to form an optical output signal. The center wavelength and shape of the output signal is optimized with a feedback loop using the temperature sensor to control the power dissipated in at least one of the localized heaters.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 7, 2007
    Publication date: September 6, 2007
    Inventors: Sai Chu, Frederick Johnson, Oliver King, Marcus Schuetz, Brent Little
  • Publication number: 20070196042
    Abstract: A method for separating the orthogonal polarization components of an incident optical signal into two spatially separated output ports is described. The method comprises a Mach-Zehnder interferometer where one of the two branches has a section of waveguide that exhibits form-birefringence. This integrated optic Polarization Beam Splitter (PBS) is broadband, has high extinction ratio, and has characteristics that are tunable.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 18, 2007
    Publication date: August 23, 2007
    Inventor: Brent Little
  • Patent number: 7231113
    Abstract: An integrated optical device is disclosed comprising a substrate, optical waveguide, and compound optical resonator having a temperature sensor, at least two coupled optical resonators, and a heater localized to each optical resonator. An optical input signal is coupled to one of the resonators making up the compound resonator to form an optical output signal. The center wavelength and shape of the output signal is optimized with a feedback loop using the temperature sensor to control the power dissipated in at least one of the localized heaters. The power dissipated in the remaining resonator heaters is set according to a predetermined function having as an input variable the power dissipated in the resonant heater under control of the said feedback loop.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2007
    Assignee: Infinera Corporation
    Inventors: Sai Chu, Frederick G. Johnson, Oliver King, Marcus Schuetz, Brent Little
  • Publication number: 20060285797
    Abstract: An integrated optical mode transformer provides a low loss interconnection between an optical fiber and an integrated optic waveguide having a spot size different from that of the fiber. The mode transformer is comprised of two waveguide layers, an upper layer and a lower layer, with the upper layer being contiguous to the lower layer. The lower layer is the integrated optic waveguide layer forming the optical circuit. The input dimensions of the composite two-waveguide structure supports a fundamental mode that accepts all of the light present on the optical fiber. The upper waveguide layer is tapered down from an input width to an output width and then terminates in such a way that at the termination substantially all of the input optical power resides in the lower waveguide layer. The two-waveguide layer structure is fabricated by deposition and planarization techniques.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 31, 2006
    Publication date: December 21, 2006
    Inventor: Brent Little
  • Publication number: 20060239618
    Abstract: A broadband optical via provides a low loss interconnection between waveguides in two vertically adjacent planar waveguiding layers. Two waveguides, one in each planar layer, evanescently interact over an interaction length, and substantially all of the power on one waveguide is transferred to the second waveguide. The relative detuning between waveguides is varied along the interaction region by tapering the width of one or both guides along the direction of propagation. The interaction strength is also varied by varying the physical separation between the two waveguides such that the interaction approaches zero near the two ends of the interaction length. The performance of the broadband optical via is fabrication tolerant, polarization tolerant, wavelength tolerant, and dimensionally tolerant.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 23, 2006
    Publication date: October 26, 2006
    Inventor: Brent Little
  • Publication number: 20060133716
    Abstract: A geometrically shaped optical waveguide crossing with minimal transmission loss is described. A symmetrically tapered waveguide intersection is used to minimize loss in the intersecting region where at least two optical waveguides cross one another. The present invention embodies a waveguide crossing that includes tapering the width of the waveguides as they approach the intersecting region, forcing the field of light to contract, reducing asymmetric field distortions, and thus reducing transmission loss and effectively minimizig crosstalk. This is accomplished by focusing light through a perpendicular or near perpendicular intersection by simple linear tapering rather than by the use of a lens or other previously used devices.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 23, 2002
    Publication date: June 22, 2006
    Inventor: Brent Little
  • Publication number: 20060120657
    Abstract: A method for separating the orthogonal polarization components of an incident optical signal into two spatially separated output ports is described. The method comprises a Mach-Zehnder interferometer where one of the two branches has a section of waveguide that exhibits form-birefringence. This integrated optic Polarization Beam Splitter (PBS) is broadband, has high extinction ratio, and has characteristics that are tunable.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 10, 2006
    Publication date: June 8, 2006
    Inventor: Brent Little
  • Publication number: 20060051010
    Abstract: An integrated optical device is disclosed comprising a substrate, optical waveguide, and compound optical resonator having a temperature sensor, at least two coupled optical resonators, and a heater localized to each optical resonator. An optical input signal is coupled to one of the resonators making up the compound resonator to form an optical output signal. The center wavelength and shape of the output signal is optimized with a feedback loop using the temperature sensor to control the power dissipated in at least one of the localized heaters.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 19, 2005
    Publication date: March 9, 2006
    Inventors: Sai Chu, Frederick Johnson, Oliver King, Marcus Schuetz, Brent Little