Electro-optic tunable optical filter
US4197008A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 27, 1977 |
| Grant date | Apr 8, 1980 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 27, 1997 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02F3/022
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Electronically tunable optical filters are disclosed wherein a spatially varying dc electric field is applied to successive regions of a birefringent crystalline medium disposed between a pair of suitably oriented polarizers along the path of a light beam to be filtered. The dc electric field, which may be either parallel or perpendicular to the light path, electro-optically produces in the birefringent medium an effective oscillation of the optic axis of the medium about the pass direction of the input polarizer in a plane perpendicular to the light path as a function of distance along the light path with a predetermined spatial variation to achieve a desired filter transmission characteristic. The electric field is generated from programmable control voltages to provide a wide variety of filter passband or stopband characteristics.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.