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US 4,728,166 AGranted
Branching electro-optic waveguides
AssigneeXerox Corporation
InventorsWilliam D. Turner, Robert A. Sprague
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A multilayer electrode structure is deposited on or supported in intimate contact with an electro-optic element to define a substantially continuous, transformation-free, branching, fringe field controlled electro-optic waveguide. Transformations are minimized because the fringe field induced waveguiding channels all have substantially equal widths and depths, and discontinuities are reduced by providing bridging electrodes to span any gaps that might otherwise exist in the fringe fields.
Claims9
An optical waveguide comprising
- an electro-optic element, and
- a multiple layer electrode structure located on one side of said electro-optic element, said electrode structure being intimately associated with said electro-optic element for producing electric fringe fields to create a plurality of waveguiding channels within said electro-optic element;
- said electrode structure having at least two electrically independent pairs of electrodes which reside within first and second layers, respectively, of said electrode structure and which branch out from one another as viewed from the electro-optic element, said layers of said electrode structure being disposed one above the other relative to said electro-optic element.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.