US 11,719,963 B2
Optical modulation for optoelectronic processing
Cheng-Kuan Lu, Littleton, MA (US); Gilbert Hendry, Swampscott, MA (US); Huaiyu Meng, Medford, MA (US); and Yichen Shen, Cambridge, MA (US)
Assigned to Lightelligence, Inc., Boston, MA (US)
Filed by Lightelligence, Inc., Boston, MA (US)
Filed on Apr. 28, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/242,777.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/017,211, filed on Apr. 29, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2021/0341765 A1, Nov. 4, 2021
Int. Cl. G02F 1/01 (2006.01); G02F 1/225 (2006.01); G02F 1/21 (2006.01); G06N 3/04 (2023.01)
CPC G02F 1/0121 (2013.01) [G02F 1/212 (2021.01); G02F 1/225 (2013.01); G06N 3/04 (2013.01)] 84 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An apparatus comprising:
a substrate on which is disposed an optical waveguide, the optical waveguide comprising three or more non-overlapping optical waveguide segments located at respective positions along the optical waveguide;
three or more optical modulators, each optical modulator comprising a corresponding one of the waveguide segments and being configured to apply an optical modulation that is proportional to a length of that corresponding waveguide segment;
three or more electrical contacts configured to receive respective bit values of each of a series of binary values, each binary value comprising at least three bit values including a least significant bit (LSB) bit value, a most significant bit (MSB) bit value, and at least one intermediate bit (IB) bit value between the LSB bit value and the MSB bit value; and
conducting paths configured to electrically couple respective electrical contacts to at least one of the optical modulators, where each optical modulator is electrically coupled to no more than one of the electrical contacts;
wherein the positions of the optical waveguide segments are arranged so that at least one waveguide segment of a corresponding optical modulator electrically coupled to an electrical contact receiving an LSB bit value is positioned between:
at least one waveguide segment of a corresponding optical modulator electrically coupled to an electrical contact receiving an MSB bit value, and
at least one waveguide segment of a corresponding optical modulator electrically coupled to an electrical contact receiving an IB bit value.