Langmuir-Blodgett films in a waveguide optical pick-up head using Mach-Zehnder interferometers
AssigneeEastman Kodak Company
InventorsThomas L. Penner, Nancy J. Armstrong, Joseph F. Revelli, Jr.
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Abstract
An integrated optical head has first and second channels forming an interferometer. A electro-optically phase-shiftable waveguide channel is associated with one of the first and second channels of the interferometer for electro-optical phase shifting of one channel with respect to the other channel. The interferometer is formed on a silicon substrate and the phase-shiftable waveguide channel is formed of Langmuir-Blodgett thin-film electro-optic polymers described on the silicon substrate.
Claims13
An integrated optical head having an optical axis and capable of reading from an optical data storage disk, comprising:
- channels formed in said optical head forming first and second interferometers;
- first and second phase-shiftable channel waveguides formed on a waveguide layer and respectively associated with one channel waveguide branch of each said first and second interferometers;
- first and second channel detectors respectively positioned to detect light emanating from said first and second interferometers;
- a single waveguide condensing lens positioned along the optical axis of said optical head;
- and
- a condensing lens detector to detect light emanating from said condensing lens;
- control electrodes associated with said interferometers for electro-optical phase shifting of light signal in one said branch with respect to the light signal in the other branch, said phase-shiftable channel waveguide being formed, at least partially, of Langmuir-Blodgett thin film electro-optic polymeric material.
An integrated optical head, comprising:
- first and second channels formed in said optical head forming an interferometer that has branches;
- and
- control electrodes associated with one of said first and second branches of said interferometer for electro-optical phase shifting of light signal in one said branch with respect to the light signal in the other branch, said associated electrodes branch forms a phase-shiftable channel waveguide having organic nonlinear optical materials formed as Langmuir-Blodgett films.
An integrated optical head having an optical axis and capable of reading from an optical data storage disk, comprising:
- channels formed in said optical head forming first, second and third interferometers;
- first and second phase-shiftable channel waveguides formed on a waveguide layer and respectively associated with one channel waveguide branch of each said first and second interferometers;
- said third interferometer positioned along the optical axis of said optical head;
- first, second and third channel detectors respectively positioned to detect light emanating from said first, second and third interferometers;
- two waveguide condensing lenses positioned along said third interferometer;
- condensing lens detectors to detect light emanating from said condensing lenses;
- and
- control electrodes associated with said interferometers for electro-optical phase shifting of light signal in one said branch with respect to the light signal in one said branch with respect to the light signal in the other branch, said phase-shiftable channel waveguide being formed, at least partially, on Langmuir-Blodgett thin film electro-optic polymer material.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.