The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 10, 1979
Filed:
Dec. 27, 1977
Gerald F Sauter, Eagan, MN (US);
Roger W Honebrink, Chaska, MN (US);
Sperry Rand Corporation, New York, NY (US);
Abstract
Disclosed is a solid state apparatus for and a method of (1) modulating the intensity of a multimode light beam; (2) coupling the light beam to an input optic fiber that is butt coupled to a diffraction grating that is formed of a plurality of stripe domains in a magnetic film; (3) altering, by the application of suitable magnetic fields, the angular orientation of the stripe domains in the plane of the magnetic film, and (4) multiplexing the diffracted light beam to a selected one of a plurality of several output optic fibers. The apparatus uses a liquid-phase epitaxially (LPE) grown film of bismuth substituted rare earth iron garnet to form a magnetizable layer in which stripe domains may be generated, sustained and moved about. The stripe domains form a diffraction grating. The angular orientation of the stripe domains in the plane of the diffraction grating may be altered by the application of external magnetic fields -- see the E. J. Torok, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,752,562 -- to alter the angle from which the diffracted light beam is emitted from the diffraction grating. The altered or rotated stripe domains are, in turn, utilized to alter the direction that the deflected light beam is emitted from the diffraction grating and into, along and out of a selected one of a plurality of output optic fibers that are oriented along the surface of an inverted cone, which cone is aligned, along its longitudinal axis, with the optic axis of the input optic fiber.