Optoelectronic active circuit element

An optoelectronic device comprising:

• a light source means having at least one light emitting surface for emitting light energy in a specified frequency bandwidth;
• a photocell means having a light collecting surface for absorbing light energy and converting the light energy into an electrical output signal;
• and
• optical control means comprising a generally planar sheet of photorefractive material that is a lead lantium zirconium titinate material having at least a first and second surface, the first surface being in intimate contact with the light emitting surface of the light source means and the second surface being in intimate contact with the light collecting surface of the photocell means for transmitting and directly modulating the amount of emitted light energy that may be absorbed by the photocell means in response to an input signal by receiving the emitted light incident upon the first surface, modulating the emitted light within the photorefractive material in response to the input signal and emitting a modulated light energy from the second surface to be absorbed by the photocell means,
• such that the optotelectronic device behaves as an active circuit element where the electrical output signal is a function of the input signal.

An optoelectronic device comprising:

• a light source means that is a light emitting polymer material having at least one light emitting surface for emitting light energy in a specified frequency bandwidth;
• a photocell means having a light collecting surface for absorbing light energy and converting the light energy into an electrical output signal;
• and
• optical control means comprising a generally planar sheet of photorefractive material having at least a first and second surface, the first surface being in intimate contact with the light emitting surface of the light source means and the second surface being in intimate contact with the light collecting surface of the photocell means for transmitting and directly modulating the amount of emitted light energy that may be absorbed by the photocell means in response to an input signal by receiving the emitted light incident upon the first surface, modulating the emitted light within the photorefractive material in response to the input signal and emitting a modulated light energy from the second surface to be absorbed by the photocell means,
• such that the optotelectronic device behaves as an active circuit element where the electrical output signal is a function of the input signal.

An optoelectronic device comprising:

• a light source means having at least one light emitting surface for emitting light energy in a specified frequency bandwidth that is substantially monochromatic;
• a photocell means having a light collecting surface for absorbing light energy and converting the light energy into an electrical output signal;
• and
• optical control means comprising a generally planar sheet of photorefractive material having at least a first and second surface, the first surface being in intimate contact with the light emitting surface of the light source means and the second surface being in intimate contact with the light collecting surface of the photocell means for transmitting and directly modulating the amount of emitted light energy that may be absorbed by the photocell means in response to an input signal by receiving the emitted light incident upon the first surface, modulating the emitted light within the photorefractive material in response to the input signal and emitting a modulated light energy from the second surface to be absorbed by the photocell means,
• such that the optotelectronic device behaves as an active circuit element where the electrical output signal is a function of the input signal.

An optoelectronic device comprising:

• a light source means having at least one light emitting surface for emitting light energy in a specified frequency bandwidth;
• a photocell means having a light collecting surface for absorbing light energy and converting the light energy into an electrical output signal:
• optical control means comprising a generally planar sheet of photorefractive material having at least a first and second surface, the first surface being in intimate contact with the light emitting surface of the light source means and the second surface being in intimate contact with the light collecting surface of the photocell means for transmitting and directly modulating the amount of emitted light energy that may be absorbed by the photocell means in response to an input signal by receiving the emitted light incident upon the first surface, modulating the emitted light within the photorefractive material in response to the input signal and emitting a modulated light energy from the second surface to be absorbed by the photocell means;
• and
• focal means optically interposed between the light emitting surface of the light source means and the light collecting surface of the photocell means for focusing the emitted light energy on the photocell means,
• such that the optotelectronic device behaves as an active circuit element where the electrical output signal is a function of the input signal.

An optoelectronic device comprising:

• a light source means having at least one light emitting surface for emitting light energy in a specified frequency bandwidth;
• a photocell means having a light collecting surface for absorbing light energy and converting the light energy into an electrical output signal;
• optical control means comprising a generally planar sheet of photorefractive material having at least a first and second surface, the first surface being in intimate contact with the light emitting surface of the light source means and the second surface being in intimate contact with the light collecting surface of the photocell means for transmitting and directly modulating the amount of emitted light energy that may be absorbed by the photocell means in response to an input signal by receiving the emitted light incident upon the first surface, modulating the emitted light within the photorefractive material in response to the input signal and emitting a modulated light energy from the second surface to be absorbed by the photocell means such that the optotelectronic device behaves as an active circuit element where the electrical output signal is a function of the input signal;
• a first optical mating means optically interposed between the light emitting surface of the light source means and the optical control means;
• and
• a second optical mating means optically interposed between the optical control means and the light collecting surface of the photocell means,
• whereby the first and second optical mating means operate to increase the transmisivity of the emitted light energy.

An optoelectronic device comprising:

• a light source means having at least one light emitting surface for emitting light energy in a specified frequency bandwidth;
• a photocell means having a light collecting surface for absorbing light energy and converting the light energy into an electrical output signal;
• optical control means comprising a generally planar sheet of photorefractive material having at least a first and second surface, the first surface being in intimate contact with the light emitting surface of the light source means and the second surface being in intimate contact with the light collecting surface of the photocell means for transmitting and directly modulating the amount of emitted light energy that may be absorbed by the photocell means in response to an input signal by receiving the emitted light incident upon the first surface, modulating the emitted light within the photorefractive material in response to the input signal and emitting a modulated light energy from the second surface to be absorbed by the photocell means,
• such that the optotelectronic device behaves as an active circuit element where the electrical output signal is a function of the input signal and such that the optoelectronic device operates at frequencies greater than 1 megahertz and has a functional capacitance of less than 1 microfarad.

An optoelectronic device comprising:

• emitter means for providing photon energy;
• collector means for receiving photon energy from the emitter means and converting the photon energy to an electrical energy signal;
• and
• optical control means comprised of a generally planar sheet of photorefractive material having at least a first and second surface interposed between and in intimate contact with the emitter means and the collector means for transmitting and directly modulating the amount of photon energy from the emitter means to the collector means in response to an electrical input signal by receiving the photon energy incident upon the first surface, modulating the photon energy within the photorefractive material in response to the electrical input signal and emitting a modulated photon energy from the second surface to be absorbed by the collector means,
• such that the electrical energy signal is a function of the electrical input signal.