Patent ID: 6704473
Filing Date: 2004-03-09
Classification: G02B

Abstract:
An optical switching arrangement, comprising:an output beam receiver having a limited beam acceptance angular cone corresponding to a finite numerical aperture; a first deflector module, comprising a plurality of first optical deflectors that emits a first polarized collection of beams, said first polarized collection of beams carrying a first plurality of optical information carrying channels bearing first information, said first plurality of optical information carrying channels having a first total divergence; a second deflector module, comprising a plurality of second optical deflectors that emits a second polarized collection of beams, said second polarized collection of beams carrying a second plurality of optical information carrying channels, independent of and different from said first optical information carrying channels, bearing second information different from said first information, said second plurality of optical information carrying channels having a second total divergence, an algebraic sum of said first and second total divergences exceeding said limited beam acceptance angular cone corresponding to a finite numerical aperture of said output beam receiver; and a polarization beam combiner, disposed in a first light path of said first polarized collection of beams and in a second light path of said second polarized collection of beams that combines said first polarized collection of beams and said second polarized collection of beams into an output beam, wherein a first polarization of said first polarized collection of beams is orthogonal to a second polarization of said second polarized collection of beams at said polarization beam combiner, said output beam having a total divergence which does not exceed said limited beam acceptance angular cone corresponding to a finite numerical aperture of said output beam receiver and does not exceed the larger of said first total divergence and said second total divergence.