Back to results
US 2002/0054728 A1Published application
Piezoelectric and electromagnetic actuators and systems and methods using the same
AssigneeHerzel Laor
InventorHerzel Laor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Systems and methods for actuating optical elements in order to steer a beam in two degrees of freedom in order to efficiently align the beam between a selected input and output is described herein. These systems include actuator configurations that have piezoelectric and electromagnetic components, servo control systems, optical cross connect configurations, and the like. The actuable optical elements include reflective surfaces (e.g., mirrors), prisms, lenses, optical fibers, and the like.
Claims32
An actuator comprising:
- a piezoelectric element having at least one electrode on two opposing surfaces thereof;
- at least two magnetic elements connected to the piezoelectric element;
- and
- a shuttle, wherein movement of at least one of the piezoelectric element, the at least two magnetic elements, and the shuttle is electromagnetically controllable by the piezoelectric element and the at least two magnetic elements.
1 more element
A beam steering unit comprising:
- a first and a second piezoelectric element;
- a frame;
- a base, wherein the frame is rotatably attached to the base;
- and
- at least one movable optical element, wherein the at least one movable optical element is rotatably attached to the frame, and further wherein the first piezoelectric element operates to move the frame in a first degree of freedom and the second piezoelectric element operates to move the at least one movable optical element in a second degree of freedom, such that a beam impinging upon the movable optical element is steerable in two degrees of freedom.
2 more elements
An optical cross connect comprising:
- a first and a second unit, wherein each of the first and second units includes at least one beam steering unit and at least one beam generating unit;
- and
- at least one input fiber for supplying a transmission signal to the at least one beam generating unit of the first unit and at least one output fiber for receiving the transmission signal from the at least one beam generating unit of the second unit;
- wherein each of the at least one beam steering units includes at least two piezoelectric elements and at least one movable optical element for steering the transmission signal in two degrees of freedom.
1 more element
An optical cross connect comprising:
- a first and a second unit, wherein each of the first and second units includes at least one beam steering unit and at least one beam generating unit;
- and
- at least one input fiber for supplying a transmission signal to the at least one beam generating unit of the first unit and at least one output fiber for receiving the transmission signal from the at least one beam generating unit of the second unit;
- wherein the first and second units are separated by an optical path, and further wherein the at least one beam generating unit of the first unit and the at least one beam generating unit of the second unit each include a focusing mechanism for focusing the beam at twice the length of the optical path.
1 more element
A method for steering a data signal through an optical system comprising:
- receiving a data signal from an input fiber;
- generating a data beam from the data signal via a first beam generating unit;
- determining an output fiber to which the beam is to be directed;
- adjusting the direction of the beam via a at least one beam steering unit;
- transforming the data beam back into the data signal via a second beam generating unit;
- and
- receiving the data signal into an output fiber;
- wherein the at least one beam steering unit includes at least two piezoelectric elements and at least one movable optical element for steering the data beam in two degrees of freedom.
5 more elements
The method according to 21, further comprising:
- transmitting a first and a second servo signal through the optical system;
- and
- adjusting at least one of the input fiber, the first beam generating unit, the at least one movable optical element, the second beam generating unit, and the output fiber in response to the detection of the first and second servo signal by multiple detectors located within the optical cross connect system.
A system for determining optimal beam location between a first optical port and a second optical port comprising:
- a first and a second alignment signal, wherein the first alignment signal originates from the first optical port and the second alignment signal originates from the second optical port;
- and
- a first and a second detector;
- wherein each of the first and second alignment signals are detected by each of the first and second detectors in order to determine the alignment of each of the first and second alignment signals with respect to an optical path between the first optical port and the second optical port;
- and
- further wherein, when the alignment of the first and second signals within each of the first and second detectors is the same, the optimal beam location is determined.
3 more elements
A method for determining optimal beam location between a first optical port and a second optical port comprising:
- transmitting a first alignment signal from the first optical port towards the second optical port;
- transmitting a second alignment signal from the second optical port towards the first optical port;
- detecting a first part of the first alignment signal at a first detector and determining a first alignment;
- transmitting a second part of the first alignment signal towards the second detector;
- detecting the second part of the first alignment signal at a second detector and determining a second alignment;
- detecting a first part of the second alignment signal at the second detector and determining a third alignment;
- transmitting a second part of the second alignment signal towards the first detector;
- detecting the second part of the second alignment signal at the first detector and determining a fourth alignment;
- and
- comparing the first, second, third, and fourth alignments, wherein when the first and fourth alignments are equivalent and the second and third alignments are equivalent, the optimal beam location is determined.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.