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:
Aug. 10, 1999
Filed:
Feb. 12, 1997
Lawrence H Domash, Conway, MA (US);
Foster-Miller, Inc., Waltham, MA (US);
Abstract
A variety of optical components or nodes are provided which components are formed utilizing holographically polymerized polymer/liquid crystal composites, and which components include free space/unguided wave switches, guided wave switches, out/in couplers, reflection nodes/reflection filters and guided wave interconnect nodes. Selected ones of these nodes may be designed to operate either in a single wavelength mode or in a multiwavelength WDM mode. All of the components are switchable so as to able to modify the component output to which an optical signal received on a component input is applied as a function of an electric field applied across the component, and to vary the channel outputted on a given output for WDM operation. Nodes of the same type or node of two or more different types may be interconnected into two dimensional and/or three dimensional structures, particularly switching structures for a telecommunications or other purposes, including such structures adapted for multiwavelength operation. For preferred embodiments, guided wave optical paths, and in particular waveguides, are utilized for node interconnects, with various techniques being presented for forming nodes and/or structures as integrated optical structures.