Patent ID: 11936082
Assignee: THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
Field: Telecommunications (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC H  G | IPC G  H

Claim 20:
21. An optically controlled electrical switch device capable of switching microwave or millimeter wave electrical signals, comprising:
an optical waveguide configured to pass optical power;
a photoconductive patch optically coupled to the optical waveguide; and
an input port and an output port with an electrical waveguide electrically connecting the input port to the output port,
wherein a first side of the photoconductive patch is electrically coupled through a first conductor of the electrical waveguide to the input port and a second side of the photoconductive patch is electrically coupled through a second conductor of the electrical waveguide to the output port, and
wherein the photoconductive patch is configured to electrically connect the first conductor to the second conductor when a threshold optical power is passed through the optical waveguide, and the photoconductive patch is configured to electrically isolate the first conductor from the second conductor when less than the threshold optical power is passed through the optical waveguide, wherein the optical waveguide comprises silicon nitride.