| 摘要 |
PURPOSE:To obtain an optical switch which operates at a low voltage by installing a light reflector in an optical waveguide which connects optical switch elements together. CONSTITUTION:Optical waveguides 12-17 are formed on a substrate 10 of lithium niobate crystal (LiNbO3) by a Ti diffusion method, and the optical waveguides 12 and 13, 15 and 16, and 17 are put close at about several mum distances to form directional photocouplers; and control electrodes are installed on the optical waveguides constituting the photocouplers to form directional coupling type optical switch elements 21, 22, and 23. The optical waveguides 12 and 13 after running through the optical switch element 21 are bent at right angles by a reflector 24 formed by cutting a groove in the LiNBO3 substrate 10 and connected to the optical waveguides 18 and 19 respectively, and further bent at right angles by reflectors 25 and 26 and then connected to the optical waveguides 15 and 17. The reflectors 25 and 26 have flanks perpendicular to the substrate surface in the substrate 10 as well as the reflector 14 and are formed of thin grooves of several - tens of mum in width slanting to the optical guides 18 and 19 at 45 deg.. |
