Patent ID: 7840106
Filing Date: 2010-11-23
Classification: G02B

Abstract:
1. An optical apparatus, comprising a set of diffractive elements on a substrate that are arranged: (i) to receive at least a portion of an input optical signal propagating from an input optical port as a diffraction-guided optical beam, (ii) to diffract a portion of the received input optical signal as an output optical signal, (iii) to route the output optical signal to propagate to an output optical port as a diffraction-guided optical beam, and (iv) to exhibit a positional variation in diffractive amplitude, optical separation, or spatial phase over some portion of the set, wherein the arrangement of the diffractive elements corresponds to an interference pattern derived from computed interference at a surface of the substrate between a simulated design input optical signal and a simulated design output optical signal, wherein: each diffractive element comprises at least one trench segment positioned along a path defined by a corresponding constant-phase contour of the interference pattern; and each trench segment is substantially rectangular or trapezoidal in transverse cross section.