Thin film electro-optic beam steering device
US6317251A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 28, 1999 |
| Grant date | Nov 13, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 28, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02F1/213
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A light beam deflector comprising a modified asymmetric Fabry-Perot (Gires-Tournois) etalon having a back reflecting and electrically conducting mirror and a front partially transmitting mirror spaced apart by an electro-optic material, there also being a transparent sheet resistor between the electro-optic material and the front mirror. The invention further comprises a pair of electrodes contacting two generally parallel edges of the transparent sheet resistor so that if different voltages are applied between the electrodes with respect to the back conducting mirror, a front to back electric field which varies in a linear manner from one electrode to the other will be produced. By utilizing an electro-optic material with either a linear longitudinal electro-optic effect or one having a linearized quadratic electro-optic effect, a linear variation of refractive index in the material will be produced between the electrodes, further resulting in a linear phase shift across a light beam impinging on the front and undergoing multiple reflections inside the electro-optic material and still further resulting in an overall deflection of the reflected beam.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.