Patent ID: 8184984

Claim:
An optical transceiver that operates without an internal source of light, comprising: a transmitter optical sub-assembly that includes: a first lens for collimating an optical signal that is input into the transmitter optical sub-assembly from a light source that is external to the optical transceiver, wherein the input optical signal is an unmodulated optical signal received from the external light source; a modulator switchable between an optically absorptive state and an optically transmissive state; and a first mirror positioned to direct substantially all of the optical signal received from the first collimating lens to the modulator such that the modulator can selectively absorb and transmit temporally separated portions of the optical signal to modulate data on the optical signal, wherein in the optically transmissive state the optical signal is transmitted from a side of the modulator other than a side on which the optical signal is incident, wherein the optical signal that is transmitted from the transmitter optical sub-assembly has a cross sectional diameter of between 50 and 100 microns.