Patent ID: 6816296
Filing Date: 2004-11-09
Classification: C04B,G02B,G02F,H04Q

Abstract:
An optical communications network comprising:a plurality of fiber optic cables capable of carrying optical communications signals in the form of light beams; a plurality of switching nodes capable of sending and receiving said optical communications signals, each of said nodes being connected to a predetermined group of said fiber optic cables for switching the optical pathway of said optical communications signals between said predetermined group of fiber optic cables, each of said switching nodes having a plurality of solid state total internal reflection optical switching elements connected to said fiber optic cables, said each of said solid state total internal reflection optical switching elements having: a substantially planar substrate assembly which is electrically insulating and which is not substantially electro-optic, and containing substantially planar optical waveguides which are coplanar with and inside said substrate assembly and being capable of guiding the optical pathway of said optical communications signals, at least two of said waveguides meeting at a waveguide intersection inside said substrate assembly, an electro-optic switching part positioned inside said substrate assembly at said waveguide intersection and oriented to provide an optical pathway for said optical communications signals to travel through said part and between said waveguides, said switching part having a body material with an electro-optically active region, and activating electrodes positioned adjacent said switching part to create an optical total internal reflection boundary in said part when a voltage greater than a predetermined switching voltage is applied between said electrodes to create an electric field greater than a predetermined switching electric field inside said part, said electrodes being oriented to align said optical total internal reflection boundary at an angle greater than a predetermined critical angle with respect to said waveguides, a plurality of end nodes capable of converting optical communications signals into electronic communications signals, said end nodes being connected to said switching nodes through fiber optic cables for exchanging optical communications signals with said switching nodes, and a plurality of user stations being connected to said end nodes through electronic cables for exchanging electronic communications signals with said end nodes.