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:
Dec. 03, 2002
Filed:
Jun. 01, 2000
Robert W. Adair, Santa Rosa, CA (US);
Glenn A. Clarke, Rohnert Park, CA (US);
Bryant P. Hichwa, Santa Rosa, CA (US);
Christopher Iaconis, Santa Rosa, CA (US);
Douglas G. Jensen, San Rafael, CA (US);
Stephen C. Olson, Santa Rosa, CA (US);
James W. Seeser, Saint Louis, MO (US);
Basil L. Swaby, Santa Rosa, CA (US);
Optical Coating Laboratory, Inc., Santa Rosa, CA (US);
Abstract
The absorption of a spacer material in a Fabry-Perot type structure is changed to achieve an optical switching function. In one embodiment, the spacer material is a semiconductor material and an electronic control signal changes the Fabry-Perot between a transmissive state and a reflective state. In the reflective state, the device operates as a switch can be modeled as a mirror on a substrate of quasi-infinite thickness. In a further embodiment, a wavelength-selective optical component is placed between the input of the switch and the Fabry-Perot structure to improve the spectral response of the switch.