Differential optical modulator
US5822471A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 27, 1997 |
| Grant date | Oct 13, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 27, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02F1/215
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A differential optical modulator for modulating an optical beam with a forward propagating path includes a polarization component to polarize the optical beam and provide redirection of the optical beam dependent on its polarization state, a polarization dependent path component to generate two temporally sheared orthogonal polarization components of the optical beam, a polarization exchange component that mutually exchanges the two orthogonal polarization states, a reflective switch component to modulate the two temporally sheared orthogonal polarization components of the optical beam by an applied control signal and to reflect the modulated optical beam back along the forward propagating path creating a return path, and a control means for providing an applied control signal to the reflective switch component.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.