Optoelectronic Component

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This invention relates to an optoelectronic component with an integrated optical waveguide and a coupling element. The coupling element allows the transfer of optical signals between the waveguide and the external environment, but with less than ideal efficiency—some light is lost in a controlled manner. This lost light is detected by an internal detector, which generates a signal that can be used by a control unit to monitor and adjust the operating state of the component (e.g., temperature or transmission power). Effectively, the device uses the unavoidable optical losses during signal coupling as a built-in monitoring signal to actively control device parameters.

Use CasesContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

• Optical data communications, e.g., optical transceivers for fiber optic networks
• Photonic integrated circuits (PICs) for telecommunication infrastructure
• Active temperature or power management in optoelectronic modules
• Real-time monitoring and feedback control in laser or transmitter modules
• On-chip optical sensing and diagnostics in advanced photonic chips
• Wavelength division multiplexing devices for telecom/datacom

BenefitsContent extracted from patent full text and abstract with AI.

• Enables real-time monitoring of coupling efficiency and device status without additional external components
• Allows active feedback and control of device parameters like temperature and output power, improving stability and reliability
• Utilizes otherwise wasted signal losses as a useful control and feedback metric, increasing system efficiency
• Supports integration into semiconductor chips, facilitating compact and scalable photonic devices
• Potentially improves the longevity and performance of optoelectronic systems through self-regulation
• Can be adapted to a variety of photonic structures and coupling schemes

Technical Classifications (CPCs)

Inventors & Applicants

Patent Abstract

The invention relates to an optoelectronic component (5) comprising an optical waveguide (10) integrated into a plane (EB) of the component, said optical waveguide being able to guide optical radiation in the plane, and a coupling element (20) which is connected to the waveguide and is able to couple optical radiation, guided in the waveguide and fed into the coupling element therefrom, out of the plane – along a main coupling path (HKS) – and/or couple optical radiation, fed into the plane at an angle, into the waveguide and hence into the plane of the component – along the main coupling path (HKS). According to the invention, provision is made for the degree of coupling efficiency of the coupling element to be less than one in respect to the main coupling path and for the coupling element – when radiating-in optical radiation – to output optical loss radiation (D) along a secondary coupling path (NKS), said optical loss radiation being proportional, or at least approximately proportional, to the radiation transferred along the main coupling path, for the optoelectronic component to have a detector (30) which is connected to the coupling element (20) and registers the optical loss radiation in its entirety, or at least in part, and produces a detector signal (DS) and for the optoelectronic component to have a control unit connected to the detector, said control unit influencing at least one operating variable of the optoelectronic component on the basis of the detector signal.