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US 4,544,898 AGranted
Signal device employing photorefractive area modulation
AssigneeGrumman Aerospace Corporation
InventorBenjamin J. Pernick
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A variable area recording geometry is formed over the surface of a photosensitive material by scanning and exposing with an optical writing beam. The width of this area is determined by input signals to be processed. The exposed photorefractive medium results in a phase modulation of an optical beam traversing the medium in a direction parallel to the surface as in an integrated optical waveguide.
Claims20
An optical phase modulator device, comprising
- refractive means interposed along a path of propagation of an optical carrier beam and having an index of refraction which changes in response to incident light;
- and
- writing means responsive to a temporal input signal for generating a writing beam incident upon the refractive means, said carrier beam having a phase which is modulated in an analog manner in said refractive means, said writing beam having an area of incidence on said refractive means, said area of incidence having a first spatial dimension.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.