Micromirror device with a hybrid actuator
Granted: May 11, 2010
Patent Number:
7715076
A hybrid electro-static actuator for rotating a two-dimensional micro-electro-mechanical micro-mirror device about two perpendicular axes includes a vertical comb drive for rotating the micro-mirror about a tilt axis, and a parallel plate drive for rotating the micro-mirror about a roll axis. The rotor comb fingers of the comb drive extend from a sub-frame of the micro-mirror, which is only rotatable about the tilt axis, while one of the parallel plate electrodes is mounted on the…
Retarder-based despeckle device for laser illumination systems
Granted: May 11, 2010
Patent Number:
7715084
A method and apparatus for reducing speckle in a laser illumination system uses a despeckle device including an optical retarder providing an odd integer multiple of substantially half-wave retardation for light emitted from a coherent laser in the laser illumination system. The near half-wave optical retarder has a substantially constant retardance and a spatially varied slow axis. The spatially varied slow axis imposes a phase mask on the beam of light, which provides sub-resolution…
Dynamic raman tilt compensation
Granted: May 11, 2010
Patent Number:
7715092
Raman tilt is induced by the propagation of optical signals in optical communication fibers during and after transient events. Certain characteristics of the light are monitored at each amplification node and Raman tilt correction is achieved by spectral tilt control optics. The light is monitored either as total power, and/or the power of light after passing through one or more optical filters. In the case of EDFA (Erbium Doped Fiber Amplifier) the correction is performed by adjusting…
Asymmetric Mach-Zehnder interferometer having a reduced drive voltage coupled to a compact low-loss arrayed waveguide grating
Granted: May 11, 2010
Patent Number:
7715671
The invention relates to an asymmetric Mach Zehnder Interferometer (MZI) having a reduced drive voltage, coupled to a compact low-loss arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) to provide a broader passband with low ripple. The integrated device has a compact stackable design for improved manufacturing yield. Inputs and outputs of the device are disposed in alignment on opposite sides of a silicon chip with the MZI having an opposite curvature to the AWG. To achieve this alignment, waveguide arms…
Bias-control for optical Mach-Zehnder modulators with voltage-induced optical absorption
Granted: May 11, 2010
Patent Number:
7715732
A bias-control circuit that provides operating point control for a Mach-Zehnder modulator experiencing optical absorption at their interferometric arms. The bias control circuit generates compensation signals that are used to counter the thermally induced index shifts as a result of absorption. In addition, an operating point with desirable transmitter characteristics can also be arbitrarily chosen by over-compensating or under-compensating thermal effects.
Optimally clocked trim retarders
Granted: May 11, 2010
Patent Number:
7714945
A trim retarder for a liquid crystal display based projection system including a light source, a polarizer/analyzer, a liquid crystal display panel, and a projection lens, is clocked to an optimal azimuthal angle that provides a system contrast level substantially unaffected by the orientation of the slow axis of the liquid crystal display panel.
Semiconductor laser with narrow beam divergence
Granted: May 4, 2010
Patent Number:
7709280
The invention relates to a method of reducing vertical divergence of a high-power semiconductor laser with a negligible threshold current and conversion efficiency penalty. The low divergence is achieved by increasing the thickness of the n-cladding layer in an asymmetric laser diode stack structure, to a value ranging from 1 to 4 times the laser mode size measured at 10% level. The divergence may be tuned by adjusting the n-cladding layer parameters in an area of the tail the optical…
External optical modulator with domain inversion for providing constant chip versus frequency
Granted: April 20, 2010
Patent Number:
7701630
The invention relates to an external optical modulator comprising a Mach-Zehnder having a signal electrode including at least four sections of unequal length to one another positioned over an alternating domain structure in an electrooptic substrate, and including a center section, or center pair of sections disposed asymmetrically between pairs surrounding sections. The surrounding pairs, comprise the two sections adjacent the center section or pair of sections, and each two sections…
Method of reducing electro-static discharge (ESD) from conductors on insulators
Granted: March 16, 2010
Patent Number:
7677462
A non-conductive carrier having a conductive component comprising a plurality of sections to disrupt the conductive component's conductive path. Each section is isolated from other sections such that a charge accumulated in one section cannot combine with the charge accumulated in another section, thereby minimizing any potential electrostatic discharge from the carrier.
Optical device with non-equally spaced output ports
Granted: March 9, 2010
Patent Number:
7676126
The invention relates to multiport routing devices for routing optical signals which also provide beam attenuation by imparting a controllable offset between an optical beam and a selected optical port. A multiport optical routing device of the present invention has a plurality of non-equally spaced optical ports disposed in a row to enable beam offset for attenuation without substantially increasing optical crosstalk between adjacent ports in a compact port arrangement.
Two-step method of coating an article for security printing by application of electric or magnetic field
Granted: March 9, 2010
Patent Number:
7674501
A two-step method of making of a security printed image is disclosed and includes coating of the surface of a substrate with a predetermined image shape with an ink containing flaked magnetic pigment in a predetermined concentration, exposing a wet printed image to a magnetic field to align magnetic particles in a predetermined manner, allowing the ink to cure, and coating the substrate with a second printed image on the top of the first image. The second printed image with the same or…
Electronically compensated LCD assembly
Granted: March 2, 2010
Patent Number:
7671946
The invention relates to a method of electronic contrast enhancement for an LCD panel for use in an imaging device. The method comprises the step of coupling the LCD panel with a trim retarder in a pre-determined azimuthal orientation for at least partially compensating the residual in-plane retardance, followed by the step of non-mechanical fine-tuning of a dark state of the LCD panel. In the preferred embodiment, the fine-tuning of the dark state of the LCD panel is realized by…
Flow control methodology for digital retiming devices
Granted: March 2, 2010
Patent Number:
7673184
A network diagnostic device or component such as a network analyzer or a jammer that is placed in-line between two nodes in a network to perform a flow control operation transparently without the requirement of a separate link layer implementation. The network diagnostic device may include a diagnostic module configured to perform network analyzer operations, a memory a first flow control module a second flow control module. In some embodiments, when performing the flow control…
Method and apparatus for pluggable fiber optic modules
Granted: February 23, 2010
Patent Number:
RE41147
Pluggable fiber optic modules having a receive printed circuit board and a transmit printed circuit board perpendicular with an interface printed circuit board with an edge connection. The edge connection of the interface printed circuit board to plug into and out from an edge connector of a host printed circuit board. A transmitter optoelectronic device is coupled to the transmit printed circuit board. A receiver optoelectronic device is coupled to the receive printed circuit board. The…
Patterned structures with optically variable effects
Granted: February 23, 2010
Patent Number:
7667895
An optical structure includes a light transmissive substrate having a surface relief pattern applied thereon, such as a hologram. One or more layers can be patterned corresponding to materials playing the role of absorbers or reflectors on a Fabry-Perot type of optical structure. These materials are applied over portions of the surface relief pattern so as to form alphanumeric characters, bars codes, or pictorial or graphical designs. Additional layers may be applied to the patterned…
Light source
Granted: February 23, 2010
Patent Number:
7668214
An apparatus for coupling radiation of individual laser diode emitters into a common optical fiber is disclosed. The radiation is collimated along fast axis and combined by using crossed pairs of flat mirrors. The combined beams are collimated by a common slow axis collimating lens. The laser diode emitters are disposed on both sides of an optical axis of the slow axis collimating lens such that the optical path lengths from the emitters to the slow axis collimating lens are equal.
Coherence reduction of diode lasers
Granted: February 23, 2010
Patent Number:
7668216
The invention provides a method of reducing a time-averaged coherence of laser radiation for current-tunable lasers, and a laser apparatus realizing the method, by modulating the laser drive current using a modulation function optimized for obtaining a pre-determined time-averaged spectral profile of the laser radiation. In a preferred embodiment, the pre-determined time-averaged spectral profile has a substantially Gaussian shape. The method is described in reference to laser diodes.
Integrated termination for EO modulator with RF signal monitoring functionality
Granted: February 23, 2010
Patent Number:
7668417
The invention relates to RF termination for reducing electrical signal reflections at the end of transmission line electrodes on an electro-optical (EO) optical modulator. The disclosed termination incorporates a RF tap which permits the monitoring of the RF power and reflection conditions at the EO modulator. The integrated termination/tap can also be integrated with detection circuitry, such as RF diodes and passive components, giving improved performance, lower cost manufacturability…
Magnetic tape with holographic hidden pattern, method of making same and reader for reading same
Granted: January 19, 2010
Patent Number:
7648076
A holographic magnetic tape comprising a hidden image pattern for protecting against skimming, alteration and counterfeiting of the data encoded in the holographic magnetic tape. The hidden image pattern in a holographic magnetic tape of a transaction card is used to determine the validity of said transaction card and the holographic magnetic tape. This relieves the clerk at the point-of-sale of visually inspecting card which is generally ineffective.
Modular solid-state laser platform based on coaxial package and corresponding assembly process
Granted: January 19, 2010
Patent Number:
7648290
Application of a modular coaxial package design, compatible with telecommunication passive component packaging, to microchip lasers, in particular to passively Q-switched microlasers, pumped with a fiber-coupled diode, is disclosed. The number of parts is thereby reduced while providing the adequate degrees of freedom for the active or passive alignment of the optical elements within the package.
