Abstract: A laser including a resonant cavity having a solid amplifier medium (1, 7, 8), an inlet mirror (2, 9, 10), an outlet mirror (3, 11, 12, 21), and an optical pumping device (5, 13, 16) to emit at least one pumping beam from the amplifier medium. The laser is operable to vary the direction of the pumping beam in the amplifier medium, and the cavity possesses a geometry enabling a laser beam to be generated, irrespective of the direction of the pumping beam.

Abstract: A Sagnac effect optical gyrometer is provided. The gyrometer includes a probe including a planar spiral optical loop having light guides for propagating two light waves from a light source. The spiral loop is formed by optical circuits integrated on a substrate. The two light waves traverse the spiral loop in respective directions opposite to each other. The gyrometer also includes a tricoupler having three parallel rectilinear guides, a central guide and two lateral guides. The lateral guides connect two ends of the light guides to respective light detecting means. The central guide is connected on one end to the light source and introduces the light waves into the light guides. The tricoupler is integrated into the same substrate as the spiral loop.

Abstract: An integrated magneto-optical read and write head having a magnetic head set back from an optical head. The integrated magneto-optical head includes an optical subassembly having optical input for receiving optical radiation and an optical output positioned in an output plane. A magnetic subassembly includes a magnetic circuit having at least one polar part PPI placed in a plane perpendicular to the output plane, the polar part PPI exhibition a magnetic pole toward a recording medium. The magnetic pole is set back relative to the output plane of the optical output to reduce the difference between the magnetic coercive field below the optical output and the magnetic pole such that a larger range of magneto-optical materials may be employed in magneto-optical heads.

Abstract: Integrated electrooptic modulator and process for the production thereof. This modulator comprises a substrate (2), a guide structure having a guiding layer (14) defining a microguide (16) for the propagation of beams, interposed between the lower and upper layers (12, 18) having indices below that of the guiding layer, a cavity (20) made in the upper layer, an active material such as an active, solid, organic polymer (26), whose index can be electrically modified and which fills the cavity and serves as an optical guide, a confinement layer (28) covering the polymer and the guide structure, the indices of the upper layer and the confinement layer being below that of the polymer, two electrodes placed on either side of the polymer, an electrode (6) being positioned between the lower layer and the substrate and the other electrode (30) is located on the confinement layer.

Abstract: The invention concerns a sensor with integrated optics, to detect chemical substances, including a double spiral interlaced with wave guides and integrated on a substrate (13) receiving the signal of a light source (14) through a first optical component (15) able to separate into two portions the light intensity emitted by the source and sending output signals onto at least one detector (17) through a second optical component (16), the first of the two guides (11) being a reference guide isolated from the influence of the substance to be measured, and the second (12) being a measuring guide affected by the substance to be measured.

Abstract: Process for the production of an acoustooptical cell for a switched laser, the cell obtained, process for the production of microchip lasers having acoustooptical switching means and the microchip lasers obtained. A wafer is etched in order to bring about the appearance of a particular cristallographic plane (40) and on said plane are deposited piezoelectric means (86) able to create an acoustic wave. This wave makes it possible to switch the laser.

Abstract: The optical mirror incorporates a lightguide (20) produced on a surface (23) of a substrate (22) and used for the propagation of a light beam (36) in a direction parallel to said surface, a cavity (30) made in the lightguide (20) and having in the propagation direction a first (32) and a second (34) walls oriented perpendicular to said direction and having in section approximately the shape of a circular arc, the distance (L) separating the two walls being equal to the radius of curvature (R) of the second wall at the optical axis (37) of the mirror and a reflecting material layer (38) deposited solely on the second wall in order to reflect the light beam towards the first wall, the second wall forming a concave reflecting surface.

Abstract: Process for the hybridization and positioning of an optoelectronic component on a substrate and application of this process to the positioning of a laser diode with respect to an optical guide.

Abstract: Pole (P) is offset crosswise (Dt) relative to optical output plane (36) . Magnetic field (H) is increased in a relative way opposite optical output (SO) and the ratio of the fields opposite pole (P) and opposite optical output (SO) is decreased.

Abstract: The invention relates to a process of production of integrated optical components on a substrate making it possible to combine microguides, separating plates, lenses, diopters. The process consists, for this purpose, in producing a first mask having patterns of given shapes and sizes; performing an anisotropic etching of the substrate not protected by the mask to obtain cavities (20) with vertical walls; eliminating the mask; performing a thermal oxidation of the vertical walls to constitute barrier layers (31) and the mask being used for the etching of the main phase, then in producing a mask (12) having patterns of given shapes and sizes; performing an etching of the substrate not protected by the mask to obtain at least one cavity (13) of desired shape; performing a thermal oxidation to form a peripheral layer (15, 16a, 16, 16c) of given thickness on a part or over the entire inside surface of the cavities; performing a filling (17, 18) of the cavities by a suitable material.

Abstract: A connection process between an optical fiber and an optical microguide, the microguide having on a substrate, a structure having two media and a core between the media and whose refractive index is higher than those of the media, wherein substantially anisotropic etching takes place of the structure from one end of the microguide, so as to eliminate from the structure a zone allowing the axis of the core as the median line and whose width is at least equal to the external diameter of the fiber. Etching by a dry process takes place of part of the substrate which is located beneath the thus eliminated zone and over a depth making it possible to bring into coincidence the core of the microguide and the core of the fiber, when the latter rests on the bottom of the recess formed in this manner in the substrate and the fiber is fixed in said recess.

Abstract: An environmentally protected integrated optical component and its production process is disclosed. The component has at least one cavity (26a) isolated from the environment formed in at least one light guide layer (16, 18), with the cavity being filled with a fluid or a polymer (27) having a refractive index which is different or which can be made different from the refractive index of the layer. In particular, the cavity is filled with air. The component can be a splitting plate, a mirror, a grating, a microguide or a lens.

Abstract: Integrated monomode spatial optical filter and its method of embodiment. The optical filter of the invention for isolating one first optical mode and eliminating second stray optical modes consists of an optical microguide (4) borne by a substrate (2) and having along a plane parallel to the surface (P) of the substrate at least one curved portion (6) whose radius of curvature is such that the losses in the curve of the first and second modes are respectively negligible and extremely high and two light absorbers (8, 10) disposed within a given plane on both sides of the curved portion (6).

Abstract: Switch and system for the switching of integrated optical multichannels and switch production method. The switch comprises a substrate (2) supporting a buffer film (12), a recess (24) made in the buffer film and the substrate, one input microguide (18) and two adjacent output microguides (20, 22), the input and output microguides being disposed on both sides of the recess and orientated approximately along a first direction, a flexible girder (26) defined in the buffer film and equipped with a central microguide (32) over its entire length orientated along the first direction, this girder comprising one free extremity able to deform in the recess along a second direction parallel to the surface of the substrate and perpendicular to the first direction, the central microguide being situated in the prolongation of the input microguide, and excitation means (36, 38, 44, 46, 40, 48) to bring the free extremity of the central microguide of the girder into the prolongation of one of the output microguides.

Abstract: An integrated optical device for measuring the refractive index of a fluid comprises a light guide formed on a substrate and having a guiding layer for carrying light beams, inserted between a lower layer and an upper layer having refractive indices below that of the guiding layer. The device includes an interaction measurement zone of the light guide for coming into contact with the fluid, the upper layer at the measurement zone having a thickness less than the penetration distance of the evanescent wave of the guided light beam. Outside the interaction zone, that upper layer has a thinckness greater than the penetration distance of the same evanescent beam. The device also has an interferometric optical system at least partly formed in the light guide and having a reference optical circuit and a measurement optical circuit including the measurement zone, for measuring the phase shift introduced by an effective index change of the guided mode due to the fluid.

Abstract: Process for the production of light microguides with low optical propagation losses by multilayer deposition comprises, deposited in this order on a substrate, a first layer of index n, a second guide layer of index n+.DELTA.n.sub.1 and a third layer covering the two first-mentioned layers and of index n+.DELTA.n.sub.2. The second guide layer is deposited in two successive stages comprising: a first deposition stage followed by a partial etching of a first intermediate layer through an appropriate mask, in such a way that the unmasked part of the first intermediate layer has a thickness, counted from the interface located between the first layer and the first intermediate layer, equal to h, and a second deposition stage of a second intermediate layer of a material having the same index n+.DELTA.n.sub.1 as the preceding intermediate layer and surmounting the latter by a height h'.

Abstract: The invention concerns an integrated optical device allowing for separation of the polarized components of a guided electromagnetic field which, in order to obtain separation, comprises a coupler comprising a first and a second electromagnetic wave guide structure, the core of each structure being spaced by a predetermined interval so as to enable the energy of one of the structures to be coupled to the other structure, these structures admitting guided modes and having different effective indices for a first polarized component of the electromagnetic field and equal for a second polarized component of said field, the interval between these cores being constant over a predetermined distance (L) at the end of which the energy is totally transferred for the second polarized component, this interval increasing at the end of this distance (L) so as to be able to recover on each of these structures one of the polarized components of the field.

Abstract: A displacement transducer in integrated optics comprises a light source emitting a main monochromatic beam, a lens for collimating the main beam, a splitting plate for forming a measuring beam and a reference beam, a phase displacer for introducing a phase displacement of .pi./2 on part of the reference beam in order to form two reference beams, a first mirror integral with the moving object and a second mirror respectively serving for reflecting the measuring beam and the two reference beams on to the splitting plate, so as to form two interference signals, a splitting mirror for splitting these two interference signals and two detectors for respectively detecting these two interference signals. The transducer is formed in a SiO.sub.2 /Si.sub.3 N.sub.4 /SiO.sub.2 optical guide, the lens, plate and phase displacer being formed by local etching of the surface layer of the guide, the second mirror and the splitting mirror being formed by total etching of the guide.

Abstract: The head comprises a light source (S), a polarizer (P), a parabolic mirror (MP1), a second parabolic mirror (MP2), a polarization converter grating (RCP), a reflector (M), a separating plate (LS) and a detector (D). The beam diffracted by (RCP) constitutes a reference beam and the beam which has passed through (RCP) an analysis beam. The interference state of these two beams is dependent upon the orientation of the magnetization of the support to be read.

Abstract: The device comprises microguides (G1, G2, . . . GN) traversed by light beams with N different wavelengths, a diffraction grating (R) formed by reflecting elliptical facets and a single microguide (G). Point (S) of the end of the single microguide (G) and points (P1, . . . PN) of the ends of microguides (G1, . . . GN) are optically joined by the grating for different wavelengths.