Optical deflector
First Claim
1. An optical deflector for deflecting a light beam for scanning a surface of a medium over a predetermined angular range, comprising:
- a substrate having an electro-optical effect;
a three-dimensional waveguide formed on one of opposite surfaces of said substrate, to guide waves of said light beam therethrough, said waveguide including a main path, and a plurality of branch paths diverging from said main path at respective branching portions of said waveguide, said branching portions being spaced apart from each other in a direction parallel to said main path, said branch paths being angled with respect to said main path so as to cover said predetermined angular range, and the number of said branch paths being sufficient to scan the surface of said medium over said predetermined angular range;
a plurality of deflector electrode means each disposed at a corresponding one of said branching portions of said three-dimensional waveguide, said each deflector electrode means producing an electric field locally at said corresponding branching portion of said waveguide, and thereby deflecting said light beam from said main path into a corresponding one of said plurality of branch paths, due to said electro-optical effect upon selective application of a voltage to said each deflector electrode means; and
a toroidal lens disposed between an end of said corresponding branch path remote from said corresponding branching portion, and said surface of the medium, for converging the deflected light beam emitted selectively from said end of said corresponding branch path, so as to provide a beam spot at a point on said surface of the medium corresponding to said corresponding branch path.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An optical deflector for deflecting a light beam within a predetermined range of angle, including a substrate having an electro-optical effect, a three-dimensional waveguide formed on one of opposite surfaces of the substrate, to guide waves of the light beam therethrough, and plural pairs of deflector electrodes. The waveguide includes a main path, and a plurality of branch paths diverging from the main path at respective branching portions of the waveguide. The branch paths are angled with respect to the main path so as to cover the predetermined range of angle. Each pair of deflector electrodes is disposed at a corresponding one of the branching portions of the three-dimensional waveguide, in order to produce an electric field locally at the corresponding branching portion of the waveguide, and thereby deflect the light beam from the main path into a corresponding one of the plurality of branch paths, due to the electro-optical effect upon selective application of a voltage between the deflector electrodes.
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Citations
12 Claims
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1. An optical deflector for deflecting a light beam for scanning a surface of a medium over a predetermined angular range, comprising:
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a substrate having an electro-optical effect; a three-dimensional waveguide formed on one of opposite surfaces of said substrate, to guide waves of said light beam therethrough, said waveguide including a main path, and a plurality of branch paths diverging from said main path at respective branching portions of said waveguide, said branching portions being spaced apart from each other in a direction parallel to said main path, said branch paths being angled with respect to said main path so as to cover said predetermined angular range, and the number of said branch paths being sufficient to scan the surface of said medium over said predetermined angular range; a plurality of deflector electrode means each disposed at a corresponding one of said branching portions of said three-dimensional waveguide, said each deflector electrode means producing an electric field locally at said corresponding branching portion of said waveguide, and thereby deflecting said light beam from said main path into a corresponding one of said plurality of branch paths, due to said electro-optical effect upon selective application of a voltage to said each deflector electrode means; and a toroidal lens disposed between an end of said corresponding branch path remote from said corresponding branching portion, and said surface of the medium, for converging the deflected light beam emitted selectively from said end of said corresponding branch path, so as to provide a beam spot at a point on said surface of the medium corresponding to said corresponding branch path. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. An optical deflector for deflecting a light beam for scanning a surface of a medium over a predetermined angular range, comprising:
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a substrate having an electro-optical effect; a semi-conductor laser element fixed at one of opposite ends of said substrate to emit a laser radiation from said one end so that said radiation propagates along a plane of said substrate; a condensor portion formed on one of opposite surfaces of said substrate and disposed adjacent to said semi-conductor laser element, to condense said laser radiation into parallel rays of laser light as said light beam; a deflector portion including a three-dimensional waveguide formed on said one of opposite surfaces of said substrate, and a plurality of deflector electrode means, said waveguide guiding therethrough said parallel rays of laser light from said condensor, said waveguide including a main path, and at least three branch paths diverging from said main path at respective branching portions of said waveguide, said branching portions being spaced apart from each other in a direction parallel to said main path, said branch paths being angled with respect to said main path so as to cover said predetermined angular range, and the number of said branch paths being sufficient to scan the surface of said medium over said predetermined angular range, each of said plurality of deflector electrode means being disposed at a corresponding one of said branching portions of said three-dimensional waveguide, said each deflector electrode means producing an electric field locally at said corresponding branching portion of said waveguide, and thereby deflecting said light beam from said main path into said corresponding branch path, due to said electro-optical effect upon selective application of a voltage to said each deflector electrode means; and converging means disposed between the other end of said substrate and said surface of the medium, for converging the deflected light beam emitted selectively from said corresponding branch path, so as to provide a beam spot at a point on said surface of the medium corresponding to said corresponding branch path. - View Dependent Claims (8)
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9. An optical deflector for deflecting a light beam for scanning a surface of a medium over a predetermined angular range, comprising:
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a substrate having an electro-optical effect; a three-dimensional waveguide formed on one of opposite surfaces of said substrate, to guide waves of said light beam therethrough, said waveguide including a straight main path, and at least three branch paths diverging from said main path at respective branching portions of said waveguide, said branching portions being spaced apart from each other in a direction parallel to said main path, said branch paths being angled with respect to said main path so as to cover said predetermined angular range, and the number of said branch paths being sufficient to scan the surface of said medium over said predetermined angular range; and a plurality of deflector electrode means each disposed at a corresponding one of said branching portions of said three-dimensional waveguide, said each deflector electrode means producing an electric field locally at said corresponding branching portion of said waveguide, and thereby deflecting said light beam from said main path into said corresponding branch path, due to said electro-optical effect upon selective application of a voltage to said each deflector electrode means. - View Dependent Claims (11)
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10. An optical deflector for deflecting a light beam for scanning a surface of a medium over a predetermined angular range, comprising:
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a substrate having an electro-optical effect; a semi-conductor laser element fixed at one of opposite ends of said substrate to emit a laser radiation from said one end so that said radiation propagates along a plane of said substrate; a condensor portion formed on one of opposite surfaces of said substrate and disposed adjacent to said semi-conductor laser element, to condense said laser radiation into parallel rays of laser light as said light beam; a deflector portion including a three-dimensional waveguide formed on said one of opposite surfaces of said substrate, and a plurality of deflector electrode means, said waveguide guiding therethrough said parallel rays of laser light from said condensor, said waveguide including a main path, and a plurality of branch paths diverging from said main path at respective branching portions of said waveguide, said branching portions being spaced apart from each other in a direction parallel to said main path, said branch paths being angled with respect to said main path so as to cover said predetermined angular range, and the number of said branch paths being sufficient to scan the surface of said medium over said predetermined angular range, each of said plurality of deflector electrode means being disposed at a corresponding one of said branching portions of said three-dimensional waveguide, said each deflector electrode means producing an electric field locally at said corresponding branching portion of said waveguide, and thereby deflecting said light beam from said main path into a corresponding one of said plurality of branch paths, due to said electro-optical effect upon selective application of a voltage to said each deflector electrode means; and a toroidal lens disposed between the other end of said substrate and said surface of the medium, for converging the deflected light beam emitted selectively from said corresponding branch path, so as to provide a beam spot at a point on said surface of the medium corresponding to said corresponding branch path.
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12. A method of scanning a surface of a medium over a predetermined angular range, comprising the steps of:
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preparing a substrate having an electro-optical effect; generating a light beam such that said light beam propagates along a plane of said substrate; forming a three-dimensional waveguide on one of opposite surfaces of said substrate, to guide waves of said light beam therethrough, said waveguide including a main path, and a plurality of branch paths diverging from said main path at respective branching portions of said waveguide, such that said branching portions are spaced apart from each other in a direction parallel to said main path, and such that said branch paths are angled with respect to said main path so as to cover said predetermined angular range; determining the number of said branch paths so as to be sufficient to scan the surface of said medium over said predetermined angular range; forming a plurality of deflector electrode means such that each deflector electrode means is disposed at a corresponding one of said branching portions of said three-dimensional waveguide; and applying a voltage selectively to said each deflector electrode means, so as to produce an electric field locally at said corresponding branching portion of said waveguide, for thereby deflecting said light beam from said main path into a corresponding one of said plurality of branch paths, due to said electro-optical effect, so that said predetermined angular range of said surface of the medium is scanned by spots of the deflected light beam which correspond to said branch paths.
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Specification