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. 26, 2002
Filed:
Dec. 14, 1998
Vladimir Anatolyevich Aksyuk, Piscataway, NJ (US);
David John Bishop, Summit, NJ (US);
Anat Sneh, Branchburg, NJ (US);
Lucent Technologies Inc., Murray Hill, NJ (US);
Abstract
The invention provides tunable optical filters which incorporate a surface-micromachined out-of-plane plate having a moveable membrane with a high reflective (HR) coated mirror. The mirror defines one side of a Fabry-Perot (FP) filter cavity and is movable in a direction along an axis of the filter cavity. The other side of the filter cavity is defined by a second HR-coated mirror. In one illustrative embodiment, a first plate is formed on a substrate, and then subsequently released from the substrate and secured in a plane orthogonal to the substrate. The first HR-coated mirror is formed as part of a movable membrane supported in an opening through the first plate. The second mirror is formed on a second plate secured in another plane orthogonal to the plane of the substrate, such that the filter cavity is defined horizontally between the first and second mirrors. In another embodiment, the second mirror is formed on an endface of an external fiber, such that light from the fiber can pass from the second mirror through an opening in the second plate to the first mirror. In another possible embodiment, the second plate is eliminated and the second mirror is formed on the substrate. The first plate is then arranged over the second mirror, in a plane parallel to the substrate, and separated from the substrate by spacers, such that the filter cavity is defined vertically.