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. 19, 1994
Filed:
Dec. 31, 1992
William R Kaylor, Morristown, TN (US);
Allen H Boardman, Maryville, TN (US);
North American Philips Corporation, New York, NY (US);
Abstract
Using the interferometer technique, a laser light beam is split into two beams one of which is directed along a first light path having a fixed length and the other is directed along a second light path having a variable length. The length of the second light path is varied by a mirror assembly mounted on a piezoelectric block, the length of which is controlled by a modulation signal corresponding to the desired information signal. When the two light beams are recombined at the ends of the first and the second light paths, the varying of the length of the second light path results in a variable phase of the second light beam with respect to the first light beam that is modulation signal dependent at the precise point of recombination of the first and second light beams. The effect of the variable phase combination of the first and second light beams is a vectorial phase addition, the resultant laser light beam after this vectorial combination being intensity (amplitude) modulated by the modulation signal.