Abstract: An electro-optical device comprises a liquid crystal material disposed in a cell and electrodes configured to bias the liquid crystal material into a generally in-plane director configuration having a non-constant spatial pattern selectable or adjustable by an in-plane component of the biasing to produce a desired refractive of diffractive optical effect.

Abstract: A fiber lens assembly is configured to optically couple an optical fiber to a signal processing device having free-space optical elements. The fiber lens assembly includes a diverging lens having a focal length that may be around 2 to 6 times the diameter of the optical fiber core. Sensitivity of the fiber lens assembly to angular misalignment and positional displacement is reduced by coupling the optical fiber to the signal processing device using a diverging lens rather than a collimating lens, and by configuring the diverging lens with a suitable focal length.

Abstract: A method for generating an optical pulse train includes generating a source optical pulse train having a predetermined pulse period; optically combining a plurality of uniform pitch grating waveguides having a substantially identical Bragg wavelength and ?/4-phase-shift waveguides in an alternating sequence so as to form a multiple ?/4-phase-shift grating waveguide; inputting the source optical pulse train from one end of the multiple ?/4-phase-shifted grating waveguide; and extracting reflected optical pulses by the plurality of uniform pitch grating waveguides from the one end of the multiple ?/4-phase-shifted grating waveguide.

Abstract: An interconnect element incorporates a plurality of smaller, substantially identical, interconnect modules. Multiple identical elements can in turn be combined to form larger interconnect networks. Signal paths in the elements can be implemented with optical fibers or electrical conductors.

Abstract: An integrated optical device having at least two optical devices integrated therein and a method of fabricating the integrated optical device are provided. To fabricate an integrated optical device having optically connected and electrically isolated first and second optical devices on a substrate of a first conductive type, an active layer and a clad layer of a second conductive type are first formed in a mesa structure on the substrate, an SI clad layer is then formed on the substrate surrounding the clad layer of the second conductive type and the active layer, and finally first and second conductive layers are formed into trenches by diffusing a dopant of the second conductive type into the SI clad layer in areas corresponding to the first and second optical devices.

Abstract: A novel optical path switching system, architecture and technique wherein light beam data traffic is to be switched by MEMS mirrors between source and destination nodes, and test ports are used to set up optical paths even before the real data traffic is propagated, with a combination of an electrical mirror-sensing feedback loop for controlling coarse mirror positioning, and an optical path power-sensing feedback loop for controlling fine adjustments in the mirror position.