Fiber optic switching device
AssigneeThe United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Air Force
InventorMark W. Levi
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An electro-optical crystal slab defining an optical waveguide modulator between two parallel boundary regions. Each boundary region has electrodes next to the channel and a doped area immediately outside the region. An electric field applied via the boundary electrodes creates a low index of refraction and transmitted light remains in the waveguide. When boundary fields are removed some light is absorbed by the doped material. Fields applied to compensating electrodes lower the index of refraction of the doped area so that the light is directed into it and absorbed. Any light passing through the absorbing material is contained in an alternate channel.
Claims6
A switching means for multimode optical signals wherein:
- within a poled, transparent electro-optical crystal slab in which an optical guiding channel can be defined between two boundary regions in each of which a change of refractive index can be caused by an electric field and wherein means is provided to cause such fields and to controllably cause said fields to be removed, the provision of a doped and consequently optically absorptive volume within said slab and adjacent to one of such boundary regions and outside of said channel with means to apply an electric field to said volume so as to substantially compensate the change in refractive index of said volume caused by said doping.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.