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:
Sep. 23, 1986
Filed:
Nov. 25, 1983
Carl M Verber, Columbus, OH (US);
Thomas B Smith, Columbus, OH (US);
Philip M Dunson, Columbus, OH (US);
Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, OH (US);
Abstract
Apparatus (FIG. 1) receives electrical input potentials (11A-11D) representing components, e.g. coefficients (zero or one), of weighted digital input data, and provides analog optical output (12) proportional to the sum of the weighted digital values in the input data. An electrooptic waveguide (13) has four adjacent electrooptic diffractive means (14A-14D), each responsive to a separate component of the digital input data and comprising a first electrode (15A-15D) and a second electrode (16A-16D) on the waveguide (13) for temporarily changing the index of refraction when different electrical potentials are present thereon, and thus forming a Bragg grating therein with a direction of Bragg incidence in the same input direction (17) and a direction of Bragg diffraction in the same output direction (18). A coupling prism (21) directs light from a laser (20) to enter into each diffractive means (14A-14D) in the input direction (17). Binary digital circuitry (24) provides, via voltage dividers (25A- 25D), an electrical potential (at 27A-27D, 26) to each electrode (15A, etc., 16A, etc) in each diffractive means (14A, etc), such that the difference between the potentials at the electrodes (15A, 16A, etc) for each diffractive means (14A, etc) responsive to a component of the data (24) having the value of one forms a Bragg grating that diffracts in the output direction (18) a portion (Io8, Io/4, Io/2, Io) of the input light (22) having an intensity proportional to the weighted value (2.sup.-3, 2.sup.-2, 2.sup.-1, 2.sup.0) of that component of the digital input data (24).