Optical waveguides – Temporal optical modulation within an optical waveguide – Electro-optic
Patent
1989-04-12
1992-04-21
Gonzalez, Frank
Optical waveguides
Temporal optical modulation within an optical waveguide
Electro-optic
40547, 385 1, 385 33, 385116, G02B 604
Patent
active
051061813
ABSTRACT:
A thin, large, high definition television screen (2) employs optical waveguides (22). Light continually flows through waveguides closely arranged, in parallel (86), across a substrate. Light is prematurely made to exit (32) the waveguide cores by intensity modulators (66) and taps (64) placed along the length of the waveguides. The intensity modulators control the brightness of light in the waveguides. Taps direct intensity-modulated light out of the waveguides to the viewer (68). Systematically modulating the intensity of light and tapping light out of a system of parallel waveguides allows still and moving images to be formed. The preferred embodiment employs acoustic intensity modulators and taps. Sound waves (34) propagate perpendicularly (3) to the direction of light flow (5) causing changes in the index of refraction in the waveguides via the acousto-optic effect. Electro-optic modulators (42) and thin-film (86) waveguides can also be used in place of acousto-optic modulators and discrete fibers. This display can be economically produced using a flexible waveguide ribbon (130) which integrates multiple waveguides (94), intensity modulators ( 147) and taps (148) into a single unit.
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