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:
Jul. 04, 2006
Filed:
Dec. 06, 2005
Alexei Glebov, San Mateo, CA (US);
Lidu Huang, Danville, CA (US);
Kishio Yokouchi, San Jose, CA (US);
Alexei Glebov, San Mateo, CA (US);
Lidu Huang, Danville, CA (US);
Kishio Yokouchi, San Jose, CA (US);
Fujitsu Limited, Kawasaki, JP;
Abstract
A tunable micro-lens and micro-lens array for use in optical communications are disclosed. The micro-lens uses thermo optical material and a temperature controller to adjust the temperature and, hence, the index of refraction of the thermo optical material. In one embodiment, a single temperature controller is used to maintain an array of micro-lenses at a desired temperature. In an alternate embodiment, the individual lenses in an array are separately tunable. The invention may be used with either 2D or 3D lenses, and is well suited for use with existing planar lightwave circuit (PLC) technology.