Optical device utilizing optical waveguides and mechanical light-switches

Abstract

An optical device consists of one or more optical waveguides and mechanical light switches . When a light switch is turned on, it extracts light beam from a waveguide core and redirect the light beam into free space, it redirects an incoming light beam from free space and injects the light beam into the waveguide core , or it performs both functions at the same time, depending on specific applications. On and off states of a light switch are achieved by pulling the light switch into a close vicinity of the waveguide core and by pushing the light switch away from the waveguide core , respectively. An interactive fiat-panel display can be built based on this invention. A plurality of parallel channel waveguides forms a display panel. An array of light beams , injected from an array light source , propagates along waveguide cores until reaches a location where a light switch is turned on. At this location, the light switch redirects the light beams towards a viewer. An image is produced when the light switches are turned on sequentially while the light-intensity distribution on the array light source is synchronically updated. The panel display is capable of responding to an input optical signal by detecting an incoming light beam from a light pen . An array of photodetectors is used to identify the location of the incoming light beam on the display panel and a computer is used to execute a corresponding action accordingly.