High Extinction Ratio Liquid Crystal Optical Switch
OwnerHaijun Yuan, Xuehua Wu +2inventors
InventorsHaijun Yuan, Xuehua Wu, Christopher Lin, Giovanni Barbarossa
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Abstract
An optical switch for performing high extinction ratio switching of an optical signal includes a beam polarizing element and one or more optical elements. The optical elements are configured to direct an optical signal along a first or second optical path based on the polarization state of the optical signal as it passes through the optical elements. The optical switch performs high extinction ratio switching of the optical signal by preventing unwanted optical energy from entering an output port by using an absorptive or reflective optical element or by directing the unwanted optical energy along a different optical path.
Claims14
A wavelength selective switch comprising:
- a wavelength dispersive element for separating an input beam into its wavelength components;
- and
- a liquid crystal switch for directing each of the wavelength components to a primary optical path and a residual optical path,
- wherein the liquid crystal switch includes a beam polarization unit that is positioned in an optical path of one of the wavelength components and in the primary optical path and the residual optical path of said one of the wavelength components.
In an optical device having first and second output ports, a method for switching an input beam to the first output port, said method comprising the steps of:
- passing the input beam through a beam polarization unit and directing a primary component of the input beam along a first optical path and a residual component of the input beam along a second optical path;
- directing the primary component of the input beam to the first output port through the beam polarization unit;
- and
- directing the residual component of the input beam to the second output port through the beam polarization unit.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.