Patent · US Expired

Method and apparatus for directly measuring the phase change of an optical signal

US7239396B2 · kind B2 · utility

4Cited by
7References
21Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateSep 17, 2004
Grant dateJul 3, 2007
Priority date
Expiry dateSep 15, 2025

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG01M11/33
  • WIPO fieldMeasurement
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for measuring the phase change of an output optical signal from a device. In one embodiment an input optical signal is split into first and second optical signals, and the first optical signal is passed through the device while applying an external stimulus to the device, to produce an output optical signal having a phase shift. The carrier frequency of the second optical signal is changed, and the output optical signal and the changed second optical signal are then combined. The combined signal is detected in accordance with the external stimulus applied to the device, and the phase change of the output signal of the device is measured as a function of the external stimulus applied to the device.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.