OPTICAL SWITCH HAVING A REFLECTIVE COMPONENT
First Claim
1. An optical switching device, comprising:
- a substrate;
a first waveguide disposed on the substrate, the first waveguide capable of carrying an optical signal;
a second waveguide disposed on the substrate, the second waveguide capable of carrying the optical signal, the second waveguide intersecting the first waveguide at an angle to define an intersection region;
means for diverting at least a portion of the optical signal from one of said waveguides to the other waveguide at the intersection region; and
means for reflecting the portion of the optical signal when the portion of the optical signal is in one of said waveguides.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A reflective optical switch for use in optical systems, such as fiber optic communications networks, is disclosed. The optical switch includes not only signal transmission characteristics, but also signal reflection capability. The optical switch includes a semiconductor substrate having first and second optical signal waveguides disposed thereon. The two waveguides intersect one another at a selected angle to form an intersection region. A thermal element is disposed atop the intersection region and can be activated to alter the index of refraction of a portion of the intersection region. An optical signal passing through the intersection region is diverted from one waveguide to another according to the heating of the intersection region by the thermal element. A reflective component disposed in a terminal end of one of the waveguides reflects selected optical signals back to the source from which they came.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. An optical switching device, comprising:
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a substrate;
a first waveguide disposed on the substrate, the first waveguide capable of carrying an optical signal;
a second waveguide disposed on the substrate, the second waveguide capable of carrying the optical signal, the second waveguide intersecting the first waveguide at an angle to define an intersection region;
means for diverting at least a portion of the optical signal from one of said waveguides to the other waveguide at the intersection region; and
means for reflecting the portion of the optical signal when the portion of the optical signal is in one of said waveguides. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. An optical switching device, comprising:
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a first array of waveguides located on a substrate, each waveguide of the first array capable of carrying optical signals;
a second array of waveguides located on the substrate, each waveguide of the second array capable of carrying optical signals, the waveguides of the second array intersecting the waveguides of the first array at angles to form a plurality of intersection regions between the waveguides of the first array and the waveguides of the second array; and
a plurality of diverting elements, each diverting element corresponding to a respective intersection region and being configured to divert a predetermined portion of one of said optical signals from one of the first array of waveguides to one of the second array of waveguides. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. An optical switch, comprising:
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a semiconductor substrate;
a first waveguide located on the substrate, the first waveguide suitable for carrying an optical signal;
a second waveguide located on the substrate, the second waveguide suitable for carrying the optical signal, the second waveguide intersecting the first waveguide at an angle so as to define an intersection region; and
a diverting element, including;
a liquid crystal structure located at the intersection region and having a refractive index that can be modified to divert a predetermined portion of the optical signal from the first waveguide to the second waveguide. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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21. An optical switch, comprising:
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a semiconductor substrate;
a first waveguide located on the substrate, the first waveguide suitable for carrying an optical signal;
a second waveguide located on the substrate, the second waveguide suitable for carrying an optical signal, the second waveguide intersecting the first waveguide at an angle so as to define an intersection region; and
a diverting element, including;
a semiconductor superlattice structure located at the intersection region and having a refractive index that can be modified to divert a predetermined portion of the optical signal from the first waveguide to the second waveguide. - View Dependent Claims (22)
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Specification