Patent ID: 6707969
Filing Date: 2004-03-16
Classification: G02F

Abstract:
A thermo-optic switch comprising:a basic Y-branch optical switch having upper and lower arms; at least one variable thermo-optic attenuator connected to at least one of the upper and lower arms of the basic Y-branch optical switch, the at least one variable thermo-optic attenuator utilizing a higher-order mode generator; at least one attenuator heater disposed on the at least one variable thermo-optic attenuator, so as to heat the at least one variable thermo-optic attenuator, thereby controlling a refractive index of the at least one variable thermo-optic attenuator, and wherein the at least one variable thermo-optic attenuator comprises a single mode input passive waveguide, and a multimode waveguide connected to the single mode input passive waveguide, the multimode waveguide having a larger width than the single mode input passive waveguide and being capable of waveguiding at a higher-order mode.