Patent ID: 6493473
Filing Date: 2002-12-10
Classification: G02F

Abstract:
An optical apparatus for transforming the polarization of light from an input polarization to a selected output polarization, comprising:a pair of electrooptic optical waveguides including at least one coupled section, each electrooptical optical waveguide of said pair having an input and an output; a plurality of electrodes for exposing said optical waveguides of said pair to selected electric fields; an input beam splitter having an input and two outputs, the input for receiving light having the input polarization and for splitting the light into two outputs, each of the outputs in optical communication with a different input of said optical waveguides of said pair, said optical communication achieved so as to provide substantially copolarized light to said electrooptic optical waveguides of said pair; and an optical combiner having first and second combiner inputs and a combiner output, each of said inputs in optical communication with a different output of said optical waveguides of said pair of optical waveguides, the optical communication being achieved such that said combiner inputs receive light from said pair of optical waveguides as substantially orthogonally polarized; and whereby selective application of voltages to said electrodes produces said electric fields such that the light having the input polarization and entering one of an input of a first of said electrooptic optical waveguides and said input of said splitter is transformed to light having the selected polarization and emanating from one of an output of one of said electrooptic optical waveguides and said output of said combiner.