Switchable and reconfigurable optical grating devices and methods for making them
US6285812A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 17, 1998 |
| Grant date | Sep 4, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 17, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02F2201/307
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
In accordance with the invention, an optical fiber grating device is made by providing a fiber with an electrically actuable component optically responsive to voltage or current and a plurality of conductive elements to locally activate the component and thereby to produce local optical perturbations in the fiber. In a preferred embodiment, a fiber is provided with a core of liquid crystal material and a plurality of periodically spaced microelectrode pairs. Application of a voltage to the microelectrodes results in a periodic sequence of perturbations in the core index which produces a grating. When the voltage is switched off, the grating switches off. Other embodiments utilize helical conductive elements.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.