VARIABLE ATTENUATION ELECTRO-OPTIC DEVICE

摘要

A VARIABLE ATTENUATION ELECTRO-OPTIC DEVICE A variable attenuation electro-optic device has a lens for collimating light from an input fiber and for focussing light into an output fiber. The optical path of light passing through the device passes through a dynamic scattering liquid crystal cell whose optical transmissivity can be varied by varying an AC electric field applied across it. Reflective and transmissive embodiments are described using one or two lenses of the Selfoc R type. The applied AC introduces a frequency component into the attenuation which is suppressed to particularly adapt the device for use as an attenuator or enhanced and modulated to particularly adapt the device for use as a modulator.