Electro-optic Crystal Material Patents (Class 359/322)
  • Patent number: 5640267
    Abstract: An electro-optic material has first and second regions formed therein. The optic axes of the first and second regions are antiparallel and define a domain inversion pattern. The difference in refractive index between the first and second regions is a function of an electric field applied thereto. The difference in refractive index enables spatial light phase modulators and refractive optical devices having electrical control to be formed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 1995
    Date of Patent: June 17, 1997
    Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Paul May, Gillian Margaret Davis
  • Patent number: 5594240
    Abstract: A voltage monitor which uses the shift in absorption edge of crystalline material to measure strain resulting from electric field-induced deformation of piezoelectric or electrostrictive material, providing a simple and accurate means for measuring voltage applied either by direct contact with the crystalline material or by subjecting the material to an electric field.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 1995
    Date of Patent: January 14, 1997
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy
    Inventor: Jonathan D. Weiss
  • Patent number: 5539569
    Abstract: According to the invention, a film of optoelectric single crystal may be formed on a substrate made of optoelectric single crystal by a liquid phase epitaxial process. The process comprises the steps of producing a melt of a solute and a melting medium, a solid phase and a liquid phase coexisting in the melt; then cooling the liquid phase for producing super cooling state in the liquid phase; and contacting the substrate to the liquid phase to form the film on the substrate by an epitaxial growing process. The film may be produced on the substrate, the film having a half value width of an X-ray rocking curve not more than that of the substrate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 1995
    Date of Patent: July 23, 1996
    Assignee: NGK Insulators, Ltd.
    Inventors: Tsuguo Fukuda, Tatsuo Kawaguchi, Minoru Imaeda
  • Patent number: 5510929
    Abstract: Crystals formed of a solid-solution of Tl.sub.3 AsSe.sub.3 and Tl.sub.1 AsS.sub.3 provide very good materials for the nonlinear optical conversion efficiency. The crystals are useful in nonlinear optical devices such as harmonic generators and optical parametric oscillators, and in linear applications such as acousto-optical devices. The method of preparing such crystals is also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 1993
    Date of Patent: April 23, 1996
    Assignee: Westinghouse Electric Corporation
    Inventors: Narsingh B. Singh, Tom Henningsen, James P. McHugh, Emmanuel P. Supertzi, Richard P. Storrick, Robert Mazelsky
  • Patent number: 5332530
    Abstract: This invention concerns an electrolytic material in the form of a solid gel for the modulation of light comprising a homogeneous mixture of:(A) at least one organic solvent;(B) at least one salt of an electrodepositable metal;( C ) at least one organic acid; and(D) at least one salt of a non-electrodepositable metal that facilitates the solubilization of metal salt (B);characterized in that it comprises in addition:(E) at least one agent gelling said mixture to a non-flowing, transparent, solid gel state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 1992
    Date of Patent: July 26, 1994
    Assignee: Corning Incorporated
    Inventors: Bernard A. G. Eid, Pascal J. J. Marque
  • Patent number: 5325228
    Abstract: An optical shutter device for use, e.g., in an optical printer includes a plurality of electrooptic chips each having a plurality of very small segments for optical modulation. The optical shutter device has a voltage adjusting circuit which individually supplies the driving voltage to the chips depending on the light transmitting characteristics intrinsic to the chips. Thus, even when the chips have different light transmitting characteristics, the image produced by the chips will have a uniform intensity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 1991
    Date of Patent: June 28, 1994
    Assignee: Minolta Camera Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Ken Matsubara, Kouichi Shingaki, Tsukasa Yagi, Hirohisa Kitano, Itaru Saito, Kenichi Wada, Atsushi Fujita
  • Patent number: 5305136
    Abstract: An optically bidirectional electrically controlled optical switch having reduced light loss includes an electro-optic crystal having one set of fast and slow optical axes and having at least two light paths for receiving light beams through the crystal, the crystal exhibiting electric field induced birefringence such that a light beam passing through the crystal along a light path and having a plane of polarization oriented in a first direction may have its plane of polarization switched from the first direction to a plane of polarization oriented in a second direction. Beam splitting polarizers are disposed at each end of the electro-optic crystal and optically aligned with the two light paths. The beam splitting polarizers split the optical beam into two light beams having planes of polarization oriented in the first and second directions when transmitting light to the two light paths and combine the two light beams into a single light beam when receiving light beams from the two light paths.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 1992
    Date of Patent: April 19, 1994
    Assignee: Geo-Centers, Inc.
    Inventor: Malcolm C. Smith
  • Patent number: 5210638
    Abstract: This invention is directed to an electrolytic material for use in light modulation devices. The material consists essentially of four components:(1) at least one organic solvent;(2) at least one salt of an electrodepositable metal;(3) at least one organic acid; and(4) at least one salt of a non-electrodepositable metal which facilitates the dissolution of the salt of the electrodepositable metal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 1991
    Date of Patent: May 11, 1993
    Assignee: Corning Incorporated
    Inventors: Bernard Eid, Pascal Marque, Jean-Pierre Themont
  • Patent number: 5204924
    Abstract: An all-fibre mirror for use in fibre cavities and resinators for an all-fibre laser. The all-fibre mirror has a polarization selective fused taper optical fibre coupler including two pairs of optical fibres joined by a coupling region, with the fibres extending from one end of the coupling region being joined together so as to form a fibre loop. A polarization selection device interacts with the fibre loop to alter the polarization of the light passing through the loop.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 1991
    Date of Patent: April 20, 1993
    Assignee: OTC Australia
    Inventor: Peter S. Atherton
  • Patent number: 5202790
    Abstract: A photo-driven optical deflecting apparatus in which a light beam is deflected by using only light beam(s), comprising (a) a dielectric substrate having "photovoltaic effect"; (b) one or more first couples of electrodes formed in or on at least a portion of the surface(s) of said substrate so as to polarize the portion(s) positioned between said couple(s) of the electrodes formed thereby; (c) one or more photo-driving or photo-receiving elements provided at least in the polarized portion(s) of the surface of said dielectric substrate, having a polarization direction oriented in one direction, and having photovoltaic effect so as to generate a voltage between said electrodes; (d) a dielectric and transparent prism having "electrooptic effect" through which a light beam to be deflected is passed and deflected, provided on the surface of said substrate, having a second couple of electrodes provided on a couple of the surfaces of the prism, which surfaces are parallel to the optic axis; and a polarizer provided o
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 30, 1990
    Date of Patent: April 13, 1993
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Mining and Cement Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Kenji Uchino, Kazuyasu Hikita, Yoshiaki Tanaka, Mikiya Ono
  • Patent number: 5198920
    Abstract: A spatial light modulator comprising a solid state light valve comprising a high density two-dimensional array of "Kerr-cell" like pixels formed in a solid state electro-optical composition such as lanthanum modified lead zirconium titanate (PLZT). Transverse electrodes are deposited on a layer of PLZT the composition of which may provide for memory mode or non-memory mode operation. Pixels are defined in the electro-optic materials in regions between adjacent electrodes deposited on the electro-optic material. The array may be addressed optically or electronically to generate an electric field in the electro-optic material, and thus activate pixels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 1991
    Date of Patent: March 30, 1993
    Assignee: Plztech, Inc.
    Inventors: Garth W. Gobeli, Thomas M. Toor
  • Patent number: 5194984
    Abstract: 4'-Dimethylamino-4-methylstilbazolium methanesulfonate is prepared by the reaction of methyl methanesulfonate with 4-picoline followed by condensation with p-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde. Its hydrated form has second harmonic generation optical properties, but this is not true of the anhydrous form. Thus, the hydrated form is useful in the production of optical waveguides, spatial light modulators and the like.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 1991
    Date of Patent: March 16, 1993
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Eugene P. Boden, Peter D. Phelps, Christopher P. Yakymyshyn, Kevin R. Stewart
  • Patent number: 5191448
    Abstract: A photorefractive device is provided for converting an image-bearing incoherent input beam to a high contrast coherent output beam the intensity of which varies as the square of the input intensity pattern. The device uses an incoherent image beam to write a holographic grating directly in a photorefractive medium. In one embodiment, a parallel, laterally displaced, telecentric system of lenses is used to split a quasi-monochromatic, incoherent image-bearing beam into two equal components. The two components are superimposed at the surface of the photorefractive medium to produce the hologram. In a second embodiment, the incoherent input beam is directed through a physically translating external grating to write the hologram in the photorefractive medium. The moving grating improves the diffraction efficiency of the hologram under the influence of an applied electric field and stabilizes the temporal response characteristics for signal processing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 1991
    Date of Patent: March 2, 1993
    Assignee: Rockwell International Corporation
    Inventors: Frederick R. Vachss, John H. Hong
  • Patent number: 5185102
    Abstract: This invention provides an optical medium and a process therefor wherein the medium exhibits third order nonlinear optical response and comprises a polymer with pendant groups having delocalized pi-electron character forming a charge transfer complex with dopant molecules. The optical medium is useful in optical devices, such as optical switches or light modulation devices as a component or as a coating. In other aspects, novel polymers and polymer complexes are disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 8, 1989
    Date of Patent: February 9, 1993
    Assignee: Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company
    Inventors: Roberta E. Harelstad, Cecil V. Francis, Kenneth M. White
  • Patent number: 5130057
    Abstract: Light-polarizing materials, comprising a complex obtained by reacting elemental iodine, and iodide unsubstituted or monoalkyl- or dialkyl-substituted 2,5-dicarboxy-pyrazine and uses thereof in liquid suspensions, set suspensions and light valves.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 1990
    Date of Patent: July 14, 1992
    Assignee: Research Frontiers Incorporated
    Inventor: Robert L. Saxe
  • Patent number: 5112532
    Abstract: A novel organic non-linear optical material and a device using the same are disclosed. The material hardly makes reversal symmetrical molecular configuration in a bulk state such as a crystal and a thin layer and shows a high non-linear optical effect. A non-linear optical device using the material has an excellent properties. The organic non-linear optical material is comprised of the following compound: ##STR1## wherein R.sub.1, R.sub.3 and R.sub.4 are independently a hydrogen atom, a cyano group, a phenyl group, an amino group, an alkoxy group, an acylamino group, an alkylthio group, an alkyl group, an alkoxycarbonyl group, carbamoyl group or a heterocyclic group, provided that R.sub.3 is allowed to link together with R.sub.4 to form a ring and R.sub.1, R.sub.3 and R.sub.4 are not hydrogen atom at the same time; R.sub.2 is a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group or an acyl group; and said groups represented by R.sub.1, R.sub.2, R.sub.3, R.sub.4 and the ring formed by linking the groups represented by R.sub.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 1989
    Date of Patent: May 12, 1992
    Assignee: Konica Corporation
    Inventors: Hidetaka Ninomiya, Noritaka Nakayama, Toyoaki Masukawa, Miki Morita