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. 24, 1991
Filed:
Jan. 12, 1990
William B Gardner, Duluth, GA (US);
Jane F Kuhl, Atlanta, GA (US);
Calvin M Miller, Atlanta, GA (US);
Linn F Mollenauer, Colts Neck, NJ (US);
AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, NJ (US);
Abstract
A multi-port optical device for transferring optical signals, or portion of optical signals, from one transmission element to another is disclosed. The inventive optical device comprises a pair of graded index lenses having an interposed Fabry Perot etalon. Moreover, the functionality of the device may be modified by varying the transmission characteristics of the etalon, which may be effected by varying the optical path length of the etalon. In operation, the optical device utilizes the graded index lenses as image transfer lenses between transmission elements wherein wavelength selectivity therebetween is afforded by the filtering mechanism associated with the etalon. The optical device may be used as a wavelength multiplexer or as an optical splitter. Moreover, by utilizing a piezoelectric transducer, the optical device may be converted to operate as an optical switch.