| 摘要 |
A near-field photon tunneling device consisting of a plurality of optical waveguides, such as optical fibers, arranged in juxtaposition with a variable tunnel gap through which photons from at least one of said optical fibers can be caused to tunnel, and wherein the tunnel gap is filled with a metal that is liquid at room temperature or at moderately elevated temperature. The width of the tunnel gap and the corresponding thickness of the liquid metal layer is remotely controllable. The control mechanisms for the width of the gap include optical means, piezo-electric elements and temperature sensitive means. The devices include optical couplers of the head-on and side-on types, optical modulators and switches, as well as display units.
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