Class / Patent application number | Description | Number of patent applications / Date published |
359320000 | Switching | 19 |
20080204858 | ONE DIMENSIONAL SPATIAL LIGHT MODULATOR AND IMAGE OUTPUT DEVICE EMPLOYING THE SAME - A one-dimensional (1D) spatial light modulator (SLM) and an image output device employing the same are provided. The 1D SLM includes: a light deflector including a light guide that is formed of a photonic crystal material having a refractive index that can be varied according to an applied voltage and allows incident light to continue along an original propagation path or deflects the incident light from the original propagation path on a pixel-by-pixel basis, and an electrode portion individually applying a voltage to the light guide; and a light blocking member facing a light exiting surface of the light deflector and blocking a portion of light exiting the light deflector. | 08-28-2008 |
20080297882 | Apparatus and method for controlling optics propagation based on a transparent metal stack - A device and method of optics propagation and signal control integrated with micro-electro-mechanical-switches (MEMS). This device modifies optical transmission properties of a transparent multilayer metal stack by mechanically varying the thickness of an air gap between layers in the stack This is accomplished by utilizing MEMS coupled with the stack to change the optical path in a given layer of the transparent multilayer metal stack. This can be accomplished by developing a hybrid combination of transparent multilayer stacks and MEMS, wherein an air gap is used as one of the dielectric layers. The air gap thickness can be controlled by the MEMS device thereby enabling dramatic control of the optical path. | 12-04-2008 |
20090027763 | MEMS DEVICE WITH NANOWIRE STANDOFF LAYER - A microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) device and related methods are described. The MEMS device comprises a first member having a first surface and a second member having a second surface, the first and second surfaces being separated by a gap that is closable by a MEMS actuation force applied to at least one of the first and second members. A standoff layer is disposed on the first surface of the first member, the standoff layer providing standoff between the first and second surfaces upon a closing of the gap by the MEMS actuation force. The standoff layer comprises a plurality of nanowires that are anchored to the first surface of the first member and that extend outward therefrom. | 01-29-2009 |
20090116099 | Tir light valve - An array of light valves switch light by enabling and disabling total internal reflection (TIR) on a surface of the light valve. The disabling of the TIR is accomplished by putting another optical element in contact with the surface and then diffusing or changing the direction of the light. The mechanical mechanism to move the optical element is a simple one in that it only moves the optical element a small distance to change the valve from a first position to a second position. | 05-07-2009 |
20100208333 | DISPLAY-PROTECTIVE PLATE FOR ELECTRONIC APPARATUS AND ELECTRONIC APPARATUS THEREWITH - A display-protective plate for an electronic apparatus, is attached to a case of an electronic apparatus to be used, and protects a display surface of a display that is attached so as to be exposed from the case of the electronic apparatus. The protective plate is configured by a plate-shaped transparent base member, a color half mirror layer placed on a lower side of the transparent base member, a transparency-switching film formed on a lower face of the color half mirror layer, for switching between transmitting and non-transmitting modes, a reflection-increasing film layer placed on a lower face of the transparency-switching film, and a backing layer formed on a lower face of the reflection-increasing film layer and located on a portion except for an exposed portion of the display, which are successively laminated. | 08-19-2010 |
20100315697 | OPTICAL WAVELENGTH SWITCH - Various embodiments of an optical switch device are provided. In one embodiment, the optical switch device includes a substrate. A photonic crystal, having a dielectric material, is applied on the substrate. An optical gain layer, having an optical gain material, is disposed above the photonic crystal. The photonic crystal is formed with a second-order distributed feedback structure to emit laser light perpendicular to a plane of the photonic crystal and a first-order distributed feedback structure adapted for reflecting light in the plane of the photonic crystal back into the second-order distributed feedback structure. The first-order distributed feedback structure at least one of fully surrounds the second-order distributed feedback structure and is arranged on two opposing edges of the second-order distributed feedback structure. | 12-16-2010 |
20110013262 | Method and System for Laser Amplification Using a Dual Crystal Pockels Cell - A system for laser amplification includes a dual-crystal Pockels cell which is used to control emission of laser pulses from an ultra-fast laser. The Pockels cell is constructed to enable adjustment of the rotational orientation of one crystal relative to the other crystal. The rotational orientation of one or both crystals in the Pockels cell is adjusted to control sidebands in the laser pulse. | 01-20-2011 |
20110255148 | OPTICAL SWITCH - An optical switch changes the refractive index of an electro-optical crystal according to an electric field applied to the electro-optical crystal so as to switch depending on whether the electro-optical crystal enables incident light to pass through or whether the electro-optical crystal enables incident light to be totally reflected. The optical switch includes an electrode section including a plurality of electrodes and formed in the electro-optical crystal, a principal plane including the largest area of each electrode on a same plane of the electro-optical crystal; an insulator layer on at least one plane of the electro-optical crystal, the plane being parallel with the electrode section, the insulator layer made of an insulator with lower dielectric constant than the electro-optical crystal; and a temperature control device formed on and in contact with the insulator layer and controls a temperature of the electrode section or dissipates heat generated in the electrode section. | 10-20-2011 |
20120019901 | Dynamic Terahertz Switch Using Periodic Corrugated Structures - A subwavelength terahertz (THz) switch using an artificially designed conductor metamaterial is discussed in this invention. Theoretically, slow-light EM wave propagating at THz speed imitates the strongly localized surface plasmon modes and henceforth is called Spoof Surface Plasmon Polariton (SSPP) mode in this invention. The SSPP mode of slow-light EM propagation can be easily tailored by changing the refractive index of the dielectric materials inside the metallic gap structure engineered as a periodic array of grooves. Thus, the incorporation of electro-optical material which has birefringence such as a nematic liquid crystal (N-LC) or multiple-refractive indices into the metallic gap leads to a highly compact and efficient terahertz switch being controlled by a low-voltage signal. The optimal design of the SSPP switch enabled by this novel method shows many interesting properties including 1) strong subwavelength localization; 2) relatively high extinction (On/Off switching) ratio; and 3) small damping attenuation. The THz dynamic switches can be used to construct linear switches, Y junction switches and Mach-Zehnder interferometers by using micromachining and other fabrication techniques. | 01-26-2012 |
20120033290 | Light Generating System and Method - An optical system includes an electrically pumped laser light source and an optically pumped laser light source. An optical switch is located in a light path of the electrically pumped laser light source such that when the optical switch is in a first position light from the electrically pumped laser light source is directed toward the optically pumped laser light source and when the optical switch is in a second position light from the electrically pumped laser light source is directed away from the optically pumped laser light source. | 02-09-2012 |
20120250141 | TRANSMISSION MODE SWITCHING DEVICE AND 2D/3D SWITCHABLE DISPLAY APPARATUS - The present invention discloses a transmission mode switching device and a 2D/3D switchable display apparatus. The transmission mode switching device comprises a first substrate on which a first transparent electrode is configured, a second substrate on which a second transparent electrode is configured, and a transmission mode switching layer located between the first and second substrates and formed by materials with isotropic optical properties. The transmission mode switching layer is switched between a first transmission mode in which the direction of light propagation is not altered and a second transmission mode in which the direction of light propagation is altered in response to switching of the electric field applied between the first and second transparent electrodes. The transmission mode switching device of the present invention is suitable for multiple modes, with low power consumption. | 10-04-2012 |
20130120829 | HIGH SPEED SOLID STATE OPTICAL SWITCHING SYSTEM USING BICONTINUOUS STRUCTURES - A bicontinuous optical switching structure includes a predetermined number of tunnels coated with a reflective material or a very smooth. The tunnels provide pathways from one side of bicontinuous optical switching structure to another. Each tunnel represents an entry point having a multitude of entry angles. Since the angle of entry dictates the exit point, a single tunnel can represent multiple entry/exit point pairs. A three-dimensional circuit may include a hyperbolic bicontinuous structure forming a substrate; circuits formed on a first surface of the hyperbolic bicontinuous structure; and electrically conductive traces formed between the circuits. The electrically conductive traces are formed two-dimensionally on the first surface of the hyperbolic bicontinuous structure. The electrically conductive traces are effectively three-dimensional traces between the circuits. | 05-16-2013 |
20130170018 | SWITCHABLE OPTICAL ELEMENTS - Optical filters capable of operating in the infra-red spectrum are disclosed. In one embodiment, a filter may be dynamically switched to provide one of two optical responses. One optical response may include the filter reflecting infra-red radiation across a range of wavelengths except at one or more wavelengths at which the filter absorbs the radiation. A second optical response may include the filter reflecting infra-red radiation across the entire range of wavelengths. In one embodiment, the switching may be caused by the physical displacement of a first filter component with respect to a second filter component. A method of switching the response of such a filter is also disclosed. Another embodiment of the filter may include one in which the optical response of the filter is effectively independent of either the incidence angle of the radiation impinging on it, or the polarization of the incident radiation. | 07-04-2013 |
20130201551 | OPTICAL ARRANGEMENT FOR CHANGING A MAGNIFICATION OR A REFRACTIVE POWER - Optical arrangement for varying a magnification or a refractive power in an optical path, wherein this optical arrangement as a whole encompasses at least two different possible magnifications or refractive powers, comprising a first optical element having a refractive power and a second optical element having a refractive power, characterized in that this optical arrangement comprises at least one optical switch, wherein the first optical element having a refractive power and the second optical element have a refractive power are spaced apart from one another. | 08-08-2013 |
20140016182 | WAVELENGTH SELECTIVE OPTICAL SWITCH DEVICE AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING CHARACTERISTICS THEREOF - A wavelength selective optical switch device includes an incidence and exit part where a signal beam made of light of a multiplicity of wavelengths enters and a signal beam of a selected wavelength exits, a wavelength dispersion element that spatially disperses a signal beam according to the wavelength thereof and multiplexes reflected light, a condensing element that condenses the light dispersed by the wavelength dispersion element onto a two-dimensional plane, and a wavelength selection element that uses a multilevel optical phased array arranged in a position to receive incident light developed on an xy-plane made of an x-axis direction and a y-axis direction perpendicular thereto developed according to a wavelength, having a multiplicity of pixels arrayed in a lattice on the xy-plane, and that cyclically changes the phase shift amount in the y-axis direction to a sawtooth wave pattern for each pixel on the x-axis. | 01-16-2014 |
20140160555 | Light Generating System and Method - An optical system includes an electrically pumped laser light source and an optically pumped laser light source. An optical switch is located in a light path of the electrically pumped laser light source such that when the optical switch is in a first position light from the electrically pumped laser light source is directed toward the optically pumped laser light source and when the optical switch is in a second position light from the electrically pumped laser light source is directed away from the optically pumped laser light source. | 06-12-2014 |
20140268305 | WAVELENGTH SELECTIVE SWITCH - A wavelength selective switch includes: a port array that includes an input port for inputting a signal light and an output port for outputting the signal light which are arranged in a first direction; a dispersive element that disperses the signal light in a second direction; a condensing element that condenses signal lights; a light deflection element that deflects the signal lights toward the output port; a first optical system that matches a beam waist position of the signal light incident onto the condensing element with a front focus of the condensing element in the optical axis direction, in a first plane that extends in the first direction; and a second optical system that shifts the beam waist position of the signal light incident onto the condensing element from the front focus in the optical axis direction, in a second plane that extends in the second direction. | 09-18-2014 |
20150055209 | MULTI-DIMENSIONAL ELECTRONIC CIRCUITRY FORMED UPON BICONTINUOUS STRUCTURES - A three-dimensional circuit includes a hyperbolic bicontinuous structure forming a substrate; circuits formed on a first surface of the hyperbolic bicontinuous structure; and electrically conductive traces formed between the circuits. The electrically conductive traces are formed two-dimensionally on the first surface of the hyperbolic bicontinuous structure. The electrically conductive traces are effectively three-dimensional traces between the circuits. | 02-26-2015 |
20160103383 | THREE-DIMENSIONAL CIRCUIT USING BICONTINUOUS STRUCTURES - A three-dimensional circuit includes a hyperbolic bicontinuous structure forming a substrate; circuits formed on a first surface of the hyperbolic bicontinuous structure; and electrically conductive traces formed between the circuits. The electrically conductive traces are formed two-dimensionally on the first surface of the hyperbolic bicontinuous structure. The electrically conductive traces are effectively three-dimensional traces between the circuits. | 04-14-2016 |