Advanced Optical Technologies, Inc.

Ying Zhao

Yong-Sheng Chao

An optical switching system employing switching modules. Each module comprises (a) a source channel, (b) a transmitting element, (c) a receiving element, and (d) a destination channel. The transmitting element directs the source channel signal to a destination channel. The transmitting element includes an initial beam deflector and a beam deflection amplifier. The receiving element includes a beam deflection compressor and a beam aligner. One embodiment of the initial deflector is a pair of focusing lenses, one of which is displaced by a piezoelectric actuator. When one lens is displaced a distance d, the output light beam has a deflection angle &agr;&equals;(f &plus;f )/f . The beam deflection amplifier multiplies the small angle &agr; by a transfer function F to result in a beam with a deflection angle F&agr;. The receiving element is the transmitting element in reverse. The first system configuration connects a single channel to one of a number of channels. The second system configuration connects a group of M channels with another group of N channels. The third system configuration cross-connects N channels in an arbitrary manner.

Optical switching modules and systems

An apparatus and method for wirelessly determining position and orientation of a first object relative to a second object in six dimensions, including one or more recording assemblies and one or more identification-coded or orientation-coded optical transponders. The positions of the recording assemblies are fixed relative to the first object and the transponders are fixed relative to the second object. A light source in each recording assembly emits light into space that is received, modulated, and retransmitted back by each transponder to a photodetector assembly in the recording assembly. The identification-coded optical transponder modulates the retransmitted light with a unique fixed code. The orientation-coded optical transponder modulates the retransmitted light with a unique fixed code that depends upon the direction of the incident light. The photodetector assemblies provide one or two independent position parameters for each transponder and two independent orientation parameters for each orientation-coded transponder. The system includes a combination of recording assemblies and transponders that provides at least six independent measured parameters.

Wireless position and orientation detecting system

A light beam deflector comprises an initial beam deflector that imparts a small initial deflection, and a beam deflection amplifier that increases the initial small deflection by a multiplication factor. There are five embodiments of the initial beam deflector. The first four use a pair of lenses and a piezoelectric actuator affixed to one lens. When the parallel lens axes are separated by a distance, the incident light beam will be deflected by a small angle, typically up to about 5&deg;. The fifth embodiment comprises a mirror affixed to a piezoelectric actuator, which tilts the mirror. The beam deflection amplifier has five embodiments. The first is a Keplerian telescope lens first stage and a negative lens system second stage. The first is a Galilean telescope lens first stage and a negative lens system second stage. The third embodiment is either a Keplerian or Galilean telescope lens alone. The fourth embodiment replaces the single second lens of the first stage with a compound lens system. The fifth embodiment uses a special sphere lens alone.

Piezoelectric light beam deflector

An apparatus for extending the light deflection angle, so a light beam can be dynamically controlled within &plusmn;90&deg;, pitch and yaw. The device comprises an initial dynamic beam deflector and a compound light beam direction mapper. The beam direction mapper includes a beam size reducer, a beam transmission adapter, and a projector. An initial light beam from a light source is deflected a small amount by the initial dynamic beam deflector. The initially deflected light beam is focused by the beam size reducer to a light energy spot on the beam transmission adapter, which transfers the light spot to the projector. The projector emits an output light beam at the far field of its output space with an output deflection angle larger than the initial deflection angle. All components are based on classical geometry optics and the energy of the output light beam is within an order of magnitude of that of the input light beam.

Apparatus for dynamic control of light direction in a broad field of view

A retroreflecting modulator including a lens, a light guide, a light modulator, and a reflective surface. Incident light falls on the lens, where it is focused as a spot on a focal surface. The light guide transmits the focused light to the light modulator, where it is modulated and reflected back, via the reflective surface and light guide, to the lens. The lens emits the modulated light in the opposite direction as the incident light. The preferred light-receiving and focusing device is a specialty sphere lens, the preferred light guide is a fiber optic plate, and the preferred light modulator is a liquid crystal modulator. The retroreflecting modulator may be spatially-unresolvable, where a single signal modulates the light, or spatially-resolvable, where the modulation signal depends upon the direction of the incident light.

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New York, NY, United States of America

Ying Zhao