Patent ID: 6674934
Filing Date: 2004-01-06
Classification: G02B

Abstract:
An optical switch comprising:an optical path; a cavity intersecting said optical path to define a first position along said optical path and a second position displaced from said optical path; an index-matching liquid within said cavity, said index-matching liquid having an index of refraction closer to an index of refraction of said optical path than to that of a vacuum; and a pressure generator for generating pressure that selectively moves said liquid between said first and second positions; wherein said cavity exhibits a potential profile for, while said pressure generator is not generating pressure, maintaining said liquid in the one of said first and second positions to which said liquid was most recently moved, and wherein said potential profile is formed by a first surface in the cavity having a first wettability, and a second surface in the cavity having a second wettability, the first wettability being different than the second wettability.