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:
Feb. 02, 1993
Filed:
Mar. 30, 1992
Khoon C Lim, Agoura, CA (US);
J David Margerum, Woodland Hills, CA (US);
Anna M Lackner, Los Angeles, CA (US);
Leroy J Miller, Canoga Park, CA (US);
Hughes Aircraft Company, Los Angeles, CA (US);
Abstract
A composite material (20) has electrically conducting, elongated particles (22) dispersed in a liquid crystal (24). The index of refraction to microwaves is controllable by the application of a transverse electric field that aligns the liquid crystal material (24) and the particles (22). A phase modulating cell (31) is formed by placing the composite material (20) inside a microwave wave guide (32), with transverse electrodes (36) built into the sides of the wave guide (32). Another set of transverse electrodes or magnet pole pieces (30) can be provided to align the liquid crystal material (24) and the particles (22) in another direction, thereby switching the index of refraction of the cell (31). The particles (22) may be made of a ferromagnetic material, to permit magentic as well as electrical switching.