Patents by Inventor Tobias Kippenberg

Tobias Kippenberg 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).

  • Publication number: 20250067853
    Abstract: A method and a setup for light detection and ranging are disclosed. The setup is configured to carry out the following method: generating signal radiation at multiple signal frequencies with an optical signal source, wherein the signal radiation exhibits random signal modulations preferably at each of the multiple signal frequencies, splitting the signal radiation into a target radiation part and a reference radiation part, directing the target radiation part towards a target, detecting a target signal, wherein the target signal is associated with a reflected portion of the target radiation part being reflected from the target, detecting a reference signal, wherein the reference signal is associated with the reference radiation part, and deriving at least one ranging information parameter from the target signal and the reference signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 17, 2021
    Publication date: February 27, 2025
    Applicant: Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)
    Inventors: Anton LUKASHCHUK, Johann RIEMENSBERGER, Tobias KIPPENBERG
  • Publication number: 20250060532
    Abstract: The present invention concerns a method for producing at least one ferroelectric device or structure comprising the steps of providing at least one ferroelectric material or layer, or providing at least one ferroelectric material or layer to be patterned or structured; depositing at least one adhesion layer on a first side of the at least one ferroelectric material or layer; and depositing at least one diamond-like carbon layer or material on the at least one adhesion layer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 20, 2021
    Publication date: February 20, 2025
    Inventors: Tobias KIPPENBERG, Zelin TAN, Rui WANG
  • Publication number: 20250020785
    Abstract: A photonic assembly, a laser setup having the photonic assembly and a method for performing frequency-modulated continuous-wave light detection and ranging using the laser setup are disclosed. The photonic assembly has an active photonic chip, a photonic modulator chip, and a tuning arrangement having a modulation element having a thickness of 10 micrometers or less. The active photonic chip and the photonic modulator chip are optically coupled such, that injection radiation at an optical feedback wavelength is generated, which defines at least one optical lasing wavelength at which the optical radiation is emitted by the active photonic chip. The modulation element is arranged such, that an actuation of the modulation element tunes the optical feedback wavelength via the Pockels effect, such, that a tuning of the optical feedback wavelength entails a tuning of the optical lasing wavelength.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 23, 2021
    Publication date: January 16, 2025
    Applicant: Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)
    Inventors: Tobias KIPPENBERG, Grigorii LIKHACHEV, Johann RIEMENSBERGER, Viacheslav SNIGIREV
  • Publication number: 20240322522
    Abstract: A frequency agile tunable self-injection locking laser system being formed by a laser device coupled to at least one optical resonator and method and controller therefor are disclosed. A diode current and an optical resonator are controllable. A self-injection locking range is selected and the self-injection locking range corresponds an optical feedback phase for back-reflected light from the optical resonator into the laser device. A diode current is set and a maximum tuning range of the actuation voltage in which self-injection locking is maintained is determined. The laser system is operated with actuation voltages in a range depending on the determined tuning range.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 4, 2021
    Publication date: September 26, 2024
    Applicants: ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE FEDERALE DE LAUSANNE (EPFL), PURDUE RESEARCH FOUNDATION
    Inventors: Tobias Kippenberg, Sunil Bhave, Hao Tian, Johann Riemensberger, Grigorii Likhachev, Anat Siddharth
  • Publication number: 20240302682
    Abstract: The present invention relates to an electrically tunable photonic resonator device for a component having a fast and flat actuation response. The photonic resonator device includes at least one optical waveguide with an optical interface for coupling in laser light. The photonic resonator device includes at least one optical resonator including a waveguide made of an optical resonator material. A laser light coupled via the optical waveguide is coupled into at least one optical resonator. The photonic resonator device includes at least one piezo actuator to apply mechanical stress onto the optical resonator. The optical resonator, the piezo actuator, and the optical waveguide are monolithically integrated on a common substrate of the photonic resonator device. The photonic resonator device includes a mechanical mode suppression means configured to attenuate one or more mechanical modes of oscillation caused by an AC operation of the piezo actuator.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 12, 2021
    Publication date: September 12, 2024
    Applicants: ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE FEDERALE DE LAUSANNE (EPFL), PURDUE RESEARCH FOUNDATION
    Inventors: Tobias Kippenberg, Sunil Bhave, Hao Tian, Johann Riemensberger, Grigorii Likhachev, Anat Siddharth
  • Publication number: 20230402250
    Abstract: The present invention concerns an energy dispersion calibration method for calibrating an electron spectrometer of an electron spectrometer system including at least one electron emission source, electron optics and the electron spectrometer. The method comprising: obtaining, providing or receiving at least one electron energy loss spectrum produced by electrons of the electron spectrometer system exchanging energy with at least one resonant optical mode of an optical resonator into which light at a resonant wavelength is coupled; calculating or providing a Fourier transform of the at least one electron energy loss spectrum or a part of the at least one electron energy loss spectrum; determining or providing an energy dispersion (?E) of the electron spectrometer according to the equation ? ? E = f E ? hc ? ? N ? or ? ? ? E = f E ? E p N .
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 8, 2023
    Publication date: December 14, 2023
    Inventors: Paolo CATTANEO, Fabrizio CARBONE, Bruce WEAVER, Alexey SAPOZHNIK, Thomas LA GRANGE, Yujia YANG, Arslan Sajid RAJA, Tobias KIPPENBERG
  • Patent number: 11714232
    Abstract: The present invention concerns an optical coupling device including at least one supporting layer comprising a first support wall and a second support wall. The at least one supporting layer comprises at least one bridging waveguide for coupling electromagnetic radiation to and from an optical resonator or optical device, the at least one bridging waveguide extending between the first support wall and the second support wall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2023
    Assignee: ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE FÉDÉRALE DE LAUSANNE (EPFL)
    Inventors: Tobias Kippenberg, John Jost, Miles Anderson, Junqiu Liu
  • Publication number: 20220413354
    Abstract: In a LIDAR device (100) a laser light source (110) generates first laser light having a first laser frequency which is frequency modulated with a first frequency modulation. A non-linear optical element (120) receives the first laser light and generates therefrom second laser light having a comb-like frequency spectrum with a plurality of second laser frequencies which are each frequency modulated with a second frequency modulation defined by the first frequency modulation. A frequency excursion of the second frequency modulation is smaller than a spacing of the second laser frequencies. A diffractive element (140) spatially separates the second laser light according to the second laser frequencies and directs the spatially separated second laser light towards a ranging region (200), with each of the second laser frequencies being directed towards a corresponding spatially distinct target position in the ranging region (200).
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 22, 2019
    Publication date: December 29, 2022
    Inventors: Anton LUKASHCHUK, Johann RIEMENSBERGER, Tobias KIPPENBERG
  • Patent number: 11513419
    Abstract: A light pulse source and method for generating repetitive optical pulses are described. The light pulse source includes a continuous wave cw laser device, an optical waveguide optically coupled with the laser device, an optical microresonator, and a tuning device. The optical microresonator coupling cw laser light via the waveguide into the microresonator, which, may include, a light field in a soliton state with soliton shaped pulses coupled out of the microresonator for providing the repetitive optical pulses. The laser device includes a chip based semiconductor laser, the microresonator and/or the waveguide may reflect an optical feedback portion of light back to the semiconductor laser, which may provide self-injection locking relative to a resonance frequency of the microresonator. The tuning device is arranged for tuning at least one of a driving current and a temperature of the semiconductor laser such that the microresonator may provide the soliton state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2022
    Assignee: Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL)
    Inventors: Tobias Kippenberg, Michael L. Gorodetsky, Arslan Sajid Raja, Hairun Guo
  • Publication number: 20220050356
    Abstract: A light pulse source and method for generating repetitive optical pulses are described. The pulse source includes a continuous wave (cw) laser device, an optical waveguide optically coupled with the laser device, an optical microresonator, and a tuning device. The optical microresonator coupling cw laser light via the waveguide into the microresonator, which may include a light field in a soliton state with soliton shaped pulses coupled out of the microresonator for providing the repetitive optical pulses. The laser device includes a chip based semiconductor laser, the microresonator and/or the waveguide may reflect an optical feedback portion of light back to the semiconductor laser, which may provide self-injection locking relative to a resonance frequency of the microresonator. The tuning device is arranged for tuning at least one of a driving current and a temperature of the semiconductor laser such that the microresonator may provide the soliton state.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 17, 2018
    Publication date: February 17, 2022
    Inventors: Tobias KIPPENBERG, Michael L. GORODETSKY, Arslan Sajid RAJA, Hairun GUO
  • Patent number: 10969276
    Abstract: A dual-frequency-comb spectrometer and a method for spectroscopic investigation of a sample are described. The spectrometer includes first and second frequency comb devices for emitting laser pulses along first and second light paths, wherein the repetition frequency of the laser pulses emitted by the second device is offset from that of the first device. First and second multi-core waveguides including at least two separate single core waveguides having field-coupling via a coupling gap therebetween are arranged in the first and second light paths. The sample is irradiated by the second frequency comb in the second light path. A detector device is arranged in a third light path where the first and second light paths are combined, for simultaneously sensing the first frequency comb and the second frequency comb after an interaction with the sample. A computing device receives output of the detector device and calculates spectroscopic properties of the sample.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 6, 2021
    Assignee: ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE FEDERALE DE LAUSANNE (EPFL)
    Inventors: Tobias Kippenberg, Hairun Guo, Junqiu Liu, Wenle Weng
  • Publication number: 20210072459
    Abstract: The present invention concerns an optical coupling device including at least one supporting layer comprising a first support wall and a second support wall. The at least one supporting layer comprises at least one bridging waveguide for coupling electromagnetic radiation to and from an optical resonator or optical device, the at least one bridging waveguide extending between the first support wall and the second support wall.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 21, 2019
    Publication date: March 11, 2021
    Inventors: Tobias KIPPENBERG, John JOST, Miles ANDERSON, Junqiu LIU
  • Patent number: 10923874
    Abstract: The present invention concerns a multiple soliton comb generation method comprising the steps of: providing a single optical resonator configured to support a plurality of distinct spatial modes in which light can propagate; providing an optical pump laser source; simultaneously optically pumping a plurality of distinct spatial modes of the single optical resonator to simultaneously generate independent soliton states in the distinct spatial modes and generate a plurality of frequency combs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2021
    Assignee: ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE FEDERALE DE LAUSANNE (EPFL)
    Inventors: Erwan Guillaume Albert Lucas, Grigory Lihachev, Nikolay Pavlov, Michael Gorodetsky, Tobias Kippenberg
  • Publication number: 20200400495
    Abstract: A dual-frequency-comb spectrometer and a method for spectroscopic investigation of a sample are described. The spectrometer includes first and second frequency comb devices for emitting laser pulses along first and second light paths, wherein the repetition frequency of the laser pulses emitted by the second device is offset from that of the first device. First and second multi-core waveguides including at least two separate single core waveguides having field-coupling via a coupling gap therebetween are arranged in the first and second light paths. The sample is irradiated by the second frequency comb in the second light path. A detector device is arranged in a third light path where the first and second light paths are combined, for simultaneously sensing the first frequency comb and the second frequency comb after an interaction with the sample. A computing device receives output of the detector device and calculates spectroscopic properties of the sample.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 19, 2019
    Publication date: December 24, 2020
    Inventors: Tobias KIPPENBERG, Hairun GUO, Junqiu LIU, Wenle WENG
  • Patent number: 10651820
    Abstract: A signal processing apparatus, being configured for transmitting and receiving coherent parallel optical signals, comprises a transmitter apparatus including a first single soliton micro-resonator device and a modulator device, wherein the first single soliton micro-resonator device is adapted for creating a single soliton providing a first frequency comb, wherein the first frequency comb provides a plurality of equidistant optical carriers with a frequency spacing corresponding to a free spectral range of the first single soliton micro-resonator device, and the modulator device is adapted for modulating the optical carriers according to data to be transmitted, and a receiver apparatus including a coherent receiver device with a plurality of coherent receivers and a local oscillator device providing a plurality of reference optical signals, wherein the coherent receiver device and the local oscillator device are arranged for coherently detecting the transmitted modulated optical carriers, wherein the signal p
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 12, 2020
    Assignee: Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL)
    Inventors: Tobias Kippenberg, Christian Koos, Pablo Marin-Palomo, Juned Nassir Kemal
  • Publication number: 20190312402
    Abstract: The present invention concerns a multiple soliton comb generation method comprising the steps of: providing a single optical resonator configured to support a plurality of distinct spatial modes in which light can propagate; providing an optical pump laser source; simultaneously optically pumping a plurality of distinct spatial modes of the single optical resonator to simultaneously generate independent soliton states in the distinct spatial modes and generate a plurality of frequency combs.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 9, 2019
    Publication date: October 10, 2019
    Inventors: Erwan Guillaume Albert LUCAS, Grigory LIHACHEV, Nikolay PAVLOV, Michael GORODETSKY, Tobias KIPPENBERG
  • Patent number: 10270529
    Abstract: A soliton generation apparatus comprising: an optical resonator; a pumping laser for providing light at a pumping wavelength into the optical resonator; a generator for generating multiple solitons in the optical resonator; a detuning device for changing the wavelength detuning between the pumping laser wavelength and an optical resonance wavelength of the optical resonator to remove at least one soliton of the generated multiple solitons to provide (i) a plurality of solitons that comprises at least one less soliton than that of the generated multiple solitons or (ii) a single soliton in the optical resonator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2019
    Assignee: ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE FEDERALE DE LAUSANNE (EPFL)
    Inventors: Maxim Karpov, Victor Brasch, Tobias Kippenberg
  • Patent number: 10191215
    Abstract: A waveguide fabrication method including the steps of providing a substrate including at least one waveguide recess structure and a stress release recess structure for receiving a waveguide material, and depositing the waveguide material onto the substrate and into both the waveguide recess structure and the stress release recess structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 29, 2019
    Assignee: ECOLE POLYTECHNIQUE FEDERALE DE LAUSANNE (EPFL)
    Inventors: Tobias Kippenberg, Martin Hubert Peter Pfeiffer, Arne Kordts
  • Publication number: 20180205463
    Abstract: A soliton generation apparatus comprising: an optical resonator; a pumping laser for providing light at a pumping wavelength into the optical resonator; a generator for generating multiple solitons in the optical resonator; a detuning device for changing the wavelength detuning between the pumping laser wavelength and an optical resonance wavelength of the optical resonator to remove at least one soliton of the generated multiple solitons to provide (i) a plurality of solitons that comprises at least one less soliton than that of the generated multiple solitons or (ii) a single soliton in the optical resonator.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 16, 2017
    Publication date: July 19, 2018
    Inventors: Maxim Karpov, Victor Brasch, Tobias Kippenberg
  • Publication number: 20180083599
    Abstract: A signal processing apparatus, being configured for transmitting and receiving coherent parallel optical signals, comprises a transmitter apparatus including a first single soliton micro-resonator device and a modulator device, wherein the first single soliton micro-resonator device is adapted for creating a single soliton providing a first frequency comb, wherein the first frequency comb provides a plurality of equidistant optical carriers with a frequency spacing corresponding to a free spectral range of the first single soliton micro-resonator device, and the modulator device is adapted for modulating the optical carriers according to data to be transmitted, and a receiver apparatus including a coherent receiver device with a plurality of coherent receivers and a local oscillator device providing a plurality of reference optical signals, wherein the coherent receiver device and the local oscillator device are arranged for coherently detecting the transmitted modulated optical carriers, wherein the signal p
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 13, 2017
    Publication date: March 22, 2018
    Inventors: Tobias KIPPENBERG, Christian KOOS, Pablo MARIN-PALOMO, Kemal Juned NASSIR