Widened output mode semiconductor optical component and method of fabricating it

摘要

A widened output mode semiconductor optical component such as a laser includes superposed active and passive waveguides. The width of the active waveguide decreases in a rear part of a mode transition section to couple a "narrow" optical mode which is amplified and guided by the active waveguide to a "wide" mode which is guided by the passive waveguide and which has a mode size greater than that of the narrow mode. The width of the passive waveguide then decreases in a front part of this section to couple the wide mode to an even wider circular mode. The invention finds applications in the fabrication of optical heads for optical fiber telecommunication networks.