Frequency-selective optical switch employing a frequency dispersive element, polarization dispersive element and polarization modulating elements
US5414540A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 22, 1993 |
| Grant date | May 9, 1995 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 22, 2013 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04Q2011/0035
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A liquid-crystal optical switch capable of switching separate optical signals in a physical input channel to a selected output channel. A diffraction grating spatially divides the input channel into its frequency components, which pass through different segments of a liquid-crystal modulator. The liquid-crystal modulator segments are separately controlled to rotate the polarization of the frequency channel passing therethrough or to leave it intact. The channels then pass through a polarization-dispersive element, such as calcite, which spatially separates the beams in the transverse direction according to their polarization. A second diffraction grating recombines the frequency components of the same polarization into multiple output beams.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.