Waveguide scanner
US4995689A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 9, 1989 |
| Grant date | Feb 26, 1991 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 9, 2009 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02F1/295
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A scanner is disclosed which uses an electro-optic deflector to deflect a light beam onto a receiving medium. The deflector comprises a substrate formed of an optical material and a thin film optical channel waveguide fabricated on a top surface thereof. A light beam is supplied to the waveguide along an optical axis in the waveguide. An array of parallel metallic electrodes are formed adjacent to the waveguide. Each of the electrodes is adapted to receive a voltage independently of the other electrodes. When a voltage is supplied to an electrode, a local variation in the index of refraction of the waveguide occurs across the thickness of the waveguide, and this local variation is used to effect the radiation of the beam into the substrate. In order to use the waveguide to scan a light beam across the receiving medium, the light beam is supplied to the waveguide in a direction normal to the electrodes, and a voltage is sequentially supplied to the electrodes.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.