A1GaInAs/InP based Integrated Waveguide Optical Isolators at 1.5 microns

The goal of this SBIR project is to demonstrate an integratable optical waveguide isolator in the InP alloy material system that can be integrated with a semiconductor laser and other photonic components. The structure of this isolator is designed to exhibit a non-reciprocal resonant loss in the presence of a magnetic field. This device can provide an isolation of 30 dB with an insertion loss of 1.56 dB with a length of 1.25 mm. A number of devices including polarizers, filters and modulators can be made and/or improved by using this Resonant-Loss-Layer Effect (RLLE). Diode lasers and amplifiers used in communication, signal processing, and computing benefit greatly if used in conjunction with isolators capable of preventing reflections from reentering the laser or amplifier. Integrated isolators would also greatly benefit a number of semiconductor lasers, laser arrays, optical amplifiers, and optical amplifier arrays that have been developed for high power application in the last few years. The biggest impact of the proposed isolator technology is that it is a key enabling technology required for large-scale photonic integrated circuits and chip-scale optical systems.