Patent ID: 6317532
Filing Date: 2001-11-13
Classification: G02B

Abstract:
An apparatus that limits coupling loss due to divergence of a light beam, having a half-beam waist w.sub.0, traveling a path of i mirror pitches in a free-space micro-machined optical switch, the apparatus comprising:an emitting fiber-optic cable which emits the light beam in a first direction of the path;a receiving fiber-optic cable which receives the light beam from a second direction of the path; anda free-rotating mirror, having a mirror radius of R, positioned such that it is juxtaposed at a point at an end of each of the emitting and receiving fiber-optic cables and can thus reflect the path of the light beam from the first direction to the second direction,wherein a value of the mirror radius R is such that when divided by the half-beam waist w.sub.0 of the light beam it provides an optimum value of a normalized mirror radius a at which point there is a minimum coupling loss for the path of i mirror pitches the light beam travels.