| 摘要 |
PURPOSE:To reduce the difference in refractive index necessary for optical switching by making the width of an electrode smaller than the width of a waveguide region. CONSTITUTION:Optical switching is carried out using a square optical circuit element 7 having a square waveguide region 1 on a substrate of an electrooptic crystal such as an LiNbO3 crystal. The region 1 is provided with an electrode 2 on it and two waveguides 3, 4 for incident light and two waveguides 5, 6 for emergent light at both sides. For example, incident light from the waveguide 4 is selectively switched to one of the waveguides 5, 6 by vertically generating an electric field in the region 1 while changing the direction and intensity. Electrodes 8, 9 at both sides of the element 7 are electrodes for generating the electric field, and the electric field is generated by applying voltage between the electrodes. |
