Patent ID: 7711216

Claim:
A proton exchange polarizer device comprising: an optically transmissive substrate having a first surface, and second and third surfaces approximately perpendicular to the first surface, the first surface having an extraordinary axis with an increased refractive index for guiding only one polarization state of light; a proton exchange waveguide formed on the first surface of the optically transmissive substrate, having an extraordinary axis with an increased refractive index for guiding only one polarization state and having an input coupling on a first end and an output coupling on a second end; a first antireflection component formed from a first edge of the second surface to a second edge of the second surface of the optically transmissive substrate, wherein the first edge of the second surface is adjacent to the first surface and the second edge of the second surface is approximately parallel to the first edge of the second surface; a second antireflection component formed from a first edge of the third surface to a second edge of the third surface of the optically transmissive substrate, wherein the first edge of the third surface is adjacent to the first surface and the second edge of the third surface is approximately parallel to the first edge of the third surface, wherein: light entering the input coupling has a TE mode and a TM mode; light having the TE mode is substantially guided by the proton exchange waveguide; light having the TM mode is substantially unguided; and a portion of the light having the TM mode propagates through the optically transmissive substrate, and almost all of the portion of the light is unreflected because of the antireflection components.