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:
Oct. 20, 1992
Filed:
Dec. 10, 1990
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY (US);
Abstract
An apparatus for changing the direction of an optical beam comprises a thin film grating deflector; an optical energy source for providing optical energy to strike the deflector at a first angle with respect to gratings of the deflector and to exit the deflector at a second angle with respect to the gratings; and elements for applying a voltage to the deflector to vary the second angle. The optical energy source preferably comprises a laser diode; and a collimator for coupling energy from the laser diode to the grating deflector. The grating deflector is a planar waveguide including a plurality of stacked quantum wells formed of GaAs separated by barriers of AlGaAs. Optical energy provided to the grating deflector in a first direction is deflected in a second direction. These directions define a plane in which the waveguide is disposed. The quantum wells are stacked in a direction perpendicular to a plane of the waveguide. The optical energy source, the thin film grating deflector, the voltage applying elements and the collimator may be integrated into a single chip.