INTEGRATED PLANAR OPTICAL WAVEGUIDE AND SHUTTER

摘要

An optical switch having an input waveguide and two output waveguides separated by and disposed around a trench. The input waveguide and a first output waveguide have respective optical paths defined by their respective cores; those optical paths (and cores) being aligned or coaxial with each other. Those waveguides are also separated by a trench having a medium provided therein that has a refractive index different from that of the waveguides. The input waveguide and first output waveguide are separated by a distance insufficient to affect the transmission characteristics of an optical signal propagating from the input waveguide to the first output waveguide, even though the optical signal experiences different refractive indices as it propagates from the input waveguide to the first output waveguide. The input waveguide and a second output waveguide are arranged generally on the same side of the trench such that an optical signal passing from the input waveguide to the second output waveguide does not completely traverse the trench. Thus, even though an optical signal passing from the input waveguide to either of the first or second output waveguide encounters different refractive indices, the distance over which the optical signal must travel between the waveguides is small enough so as to not affect the optical transmission characteristics of that signal.