Single-pole optical wavelength selector
US7454100B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 18, 2006 |
| Grant date | Nov 18, 2008 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 18, 2026 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02B6/29311
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A fiber-optical, wavelength selective switch, especially for channel blocking applications. The input signal is converted to light beams having predefined polarizations relative to the plane in which optical manipulation of the beam is performed. The beams are then preferably laterally expanded in this system plane only, and then spatially dispersed in the beam expansion plane, preferably by means of a diffraction grating. The light is directed through a polarization rotation device, preferably a liquid crystal cell, pixelated along the wavelength dispersive direction such that each pixel operates on a separate wavelength. When the appropriate control voltage is applied to a pixel, the polarization of the light signal passing through that pixel is rotated. The wavelength dispersed beams from all of the pixels are then recombined, and are passed towards a polarization selective device, aligned such that only selected polarization components are transmitted out of the switch.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.