| 摘要 |
<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To manufacture a simple and inexpensive variable optical attenuator which is reduced in loss and also reduced in polarization dependency and to provide the technology to easily control the power of light in an optical fiber or in an optical waveguide. <P>SOLUTION: On a substrate, the optical waveguide or the optical fiber is mounted and a groove which cuts the light transmitting part of the optical waveguide or the optical fiber is mounted. The groove is filled with either one out of a cholesteric-nematic phase transition liquid crystal, a polymer network liquid crystal and a polymer dispersed liquid crystal, and a pair of electrodes for applying an electric field to the liquid crystal are mounted on a part of the groove other than the light transmitting part so as to make the electric field applied to the light transmitting part of the liquid crystal be parallel to the light propagation direction by the action of the electrodes. Also the pair of electrodes for applying the electric field are mounted around the fiber cladding. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI |
