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:
Nov. 29, 1994
Filed:
Nov. 04, 1991
Kevin W Jelley, La Grange Park, IL (US);
William F Hoffman, Wheeling, IL (US);
Edward G Myszka, St. Charles, IL (US);
Motorola, Inc., Schaumburg, IL (US);
Abstract
An optical reflector for a polymeric waveguide mounted on a generally planar substrate is formed by a method that includes sequentially irradiating overlapping zones of a polymeric ridge using a series of intermittent laser beam flashes directed normal to the substrate. Each flash is selected to be effective to remove a layer of the ridge to a predetermined depth. Each zone has a linear leading edge and is displaced relative to the leading edge of the immediately preceding zone by a distance corresponding to the predetermined depth. Furthermore, each succeeding zone overlaps the leading edge of the preceding zone. It is surprisingly found that flashes cooperate at the leading edges to form a smooth, oblique surface that, when coated with a reflective metal film, is suited for reflecting a light signal between a path normal to the substrate and a waveguide path parallel to the substrate.