Abstract: A process for manufacturing an integrated device includes the steps of: providing a silicon substrate on which a silicon dioxide structure is arranged and forming a trench having first and second essentially vertical walls relative to the substrate in the structure by means of anisotropic-type etching. A concavity having a sloped wall relative to the substrate is formed by isotropic-type etching which removes the second wall so that the concavity is open to the trench and the sloped wall faces the first wall.

Abstract: A process for manufacturing an integrated device includes the steps of: providing a silicon substrate on which a silicon dioxide structure is arranged; and forming a trench having first and second essentially vertical walls relative to the substrate in the structure by means of anisotropic-type etching. A concavity having a sloped wall relative to the substrate is formed by isotropic-type etching which removes the second wall so that the concavity is open to the trench and the sloped wall faces the first wall.

Abstract: The described integrated planar optical structure comprises a principal waveguide having a core and a cladding that define a first light path ad means sensitive to the light radiated into the cladding comprising at least one secondary waveguide having a core and a cladding that define a second light path. The secondary waveguide has an entry situated in the cladding of the principal waveguide at such a distance from the core of the latter as not to interfere with the propagation of the light along the first optical path and a core section that becomes greater in a first part from the entry onwards to collect the light energy radiated into the cladding. Also described are a system for monitoring the light energy emitted by a source and an optical attenuator that comprise the aforesaid optical structure.

Abstract: Describes is an optical interferometer device comprising an input coupler connected to at least one input waveguide, an output coupler connected to at least one output waveguide and a multiplicity of waveguide branches connected between the input coupler and the output coupler, at least two adjacent branches of this multiplicity having geometric and/or optical characteristics different from each other, so that a light signal will be transmitted through one of them with a predetermined phase shift with respect to a light signal transmitted through the other branch. At least one of the two adjacent branches comprises at least one first waveguide part having a first contrast index and at least one second waveguide part having a second contrast index greater than the first. The device has a structure that permits great versatility of design. In particular, it is possible to realize devices insensitive to temperature variations and devices of limited (reduced) encumbrance.

Abstract: The described integrated planar optical structure comprises a principal waveguide having a core and a cladding that define a first light path ad means sensitive to the light radiated into the cladding comprising at least one secondary waveguide having a core and a cladding that define a second light path. The secondary waveguide has an entry situated in the cladding of the principal waveguide at such a distance from the core of the latter as not to interfere with the propagation of the light along the first optical path and a core section that becomes greater in a first part from the entry onwards to collect the light energy radiated into the cladding. Also described are a system for monitoring the light energy emitted by a source and an optical attenuator that comprise the aforesaid optical structure.

Abstract: Tunable add/drop optical device for injecting or extracting (add/drop) at least a selected optical channel or carrier wavelength in or from a set of multiplexed channels or carriers of different wavelengths comprising a plurality of directional couplers (AD1 . . . AD6) and a plurality of phase-shift stages (SF1 . . . SF5) alternately connected in cascade, wherein each phase-shift stage defines a certain optical path length difference (&Dgr;L1 . . . &Dgr;L5) between two distinct optical paths of the stage. The tuning is performed modifying the refraction index of one path of said phase shift stages by means of Joule effect heating strips (L1 . . . L5) or by means of metallic field plates adapted to receive a signal suitable to modify the electric field intensity.