Multiple channel scanning device using optoelectronic switching
US6246658A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 2, 1998 |
| Grant date | Jun 12, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 2, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG11B7/14
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An optical scanner employs a read/write head formed on an optoelectronic chip. The chip has a laser source and a diverging series of light guides interconnected with switches under control of a controller. The light from the light source is transmitted to multiple output apertures during reading operations, since, usually, less intensity is required to read data that to write it. This allows multiple channels to be read in at the same time. The light is directed to a selected output aperture during writing operations so that all of the light from the laser source is used for writing. In another embodiment, light from a small number of lasers is directed to a diverging series of light guides leading to multiple apertures, but the light fed into the input light guides comes from a small number of lasers, which could be one laser, or from a larger number of lasers, which could be two lasers. In this way, multiple channels can be written and read using the larger number of lasers during the write operation and the small number of lasers during the read operation. In either embodiment, the write operation involves modulating the emitted light, either by modulating the lasers directly or…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.