Four section optical coupler
US5202941A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 2, 1991 |
| Grant date | Apr 13, 1993 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 2, 2011 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02F2201/12
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Polarization independent switch or coupler including a directional coupler with extremely relaxed fabrication tolerances. The coupler includes a mono-crystalline wafer of electro-optic material with two closely adjacent light waveguides at an upper surface along with electrodes positioned adjacent the waveguides. The electrodes include a grounded, main electrode formed on one side of the waveguides and four smaller electrodes formed in a line on a side or sides of the waveguides opposite to the main electrode, each of the four smaller electrodes being supplied with a voltage. The electrodes and waveguides can be in a planar or stacked relationship to one another. When the voltages applied to the middle two electrodes have equal values and have like polarity (V.sub.c =V.sub.b) and the voltages applied to the outer electrodes have equal values and like polarity (V.sub.d =V.sub.a), the light travelling in one waveguide is barred from transferring to another waveguide.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.