...that when IBM conducted a market study of Chester Carlson's invention in 1959, the company concluded that it would take only 5000 units of his new product to saturate the market? IBM therefore declined to be part of the new product introduction. Too bad for IBM. Carlson's invention was the xerography process, and his new product was the beginning of the Xerox Corporation. It is estimated that every day, worldwide, 3,000,000,000 copies are made!!
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7397018 | Amplitude and phase controlled adaptive optics system An adaptive optics system is provided. The system includes a light source, a pair of deformable mirrors and a detection module. The light source is configured to provide an outgoing beam. The outgoing beam has an amplitude and a phase. The first deformable mirror is... | 07/08/2008 |
| 7286764 | Reconfigurable modulator-based optical add-and-drop multiplexer An optical add and drop multiplexer system comprising a first module for providing a first signal; a second module for providing a second signal; and a modulator for receiving a channel of the first signal at a first location, the first location configured to actuat... | 10/23/2007 |
| 7256885 | Coherently controlled nonlinear Raman spectroscopy and microscopy A method and system are presented for producing an output coherent anti-stokes Raman scattering (CARS) signal of a medium. The method comprises generation of a unitary optical excitation pulse that carries a pump photon, a Stokes photon and a probe photon; and induc... | 08/14/2007 |
| 7177081 | High contrast grating light valve type device A grating light valve has with a plurality of spaced reflective ribbons are spatially arranged over a substrate with reflective surfaces. The grating light valve is configured to optimized the conditions for constructive and destructive interference with an incident... | 02/13/2007 |
| 7127172 | Optical frequency filter The present invention relates to an optical signal shaping device such as an optical filter having a profile such that transmission of light through the device varies as a function of frequency over a selected bandwidth. The optical signal shaping device of the pres... | 10/24/2006 |
| 7068372 | MEMS interferometer-based reconfigurable optical add-and-drop multiplexor The interferometer comprises a beam splitter, a mirror and a phase modulator. The beam splitter splits a signal into a first portion and a second portion. The mirror reflects the first portion. The first portion includes an optical path length, which is fixed. The p... | 06/27/2006 |
| 7054515 | Diffractive light modulator-based dynamic equalizer with integrated spectral monitor An integrated device of the present invention comprises free-space optics, a bi-directional multiplexor/de-multiplexor, a diffractive light modulator, a beam splitter, an optical performance monitor, and a controller. The free-space optics collimate, transform and i... | 05/30/2006 |
| 7049164 | Microelectronic mechanical system and methods The current invention provides for encapsulated release structures, intermediates thereof and methods for their fabrication. The multi-layer structure has a capping layer, that preferably comprises silicon oxide and/or silicon nitride, and which is formed over an et... | 05/23/2006 |
| 7042611 | Pre-deflected bias ribbons A modulator for and a method of modulating an incident beam of light including means for supporting a plurality of active elements and a plurality of bias elements, each active and bias element including a light reflective planar surface with the light reflective pl... | 05/09/2006 |
| 7027202 | Silicon substrate as a light modulator sacrificial layer An optical MEM device is fabricated with a patterned device layer formed on a silicon wafer. Preferably, the patterned device layer is patterned with plurality of ribbons and/or access trenches. The central portion of the ribbon is released from the silicon wafer us... | 04/11/2006 |
| 6956995 | Optical communication arrangement An arrangement for optical communication comprises an optical coupler, an opto-electronic board, and an optical fiber. The optical fiber comprises a first refraction surface, a second refraction surface, and an internal reflector. The first refraction surface has a ... | 10/18/2005 |
| 6956878 | Method and apparatus for reducing laser speckle using polarization averaging A method and apparatus for reducing speckle uses polarization averaging. A polarizing beam splitter divides a first polarized laser output into a second polarized laser output and a third polarized laser output. A plurality of mirrors creates an optical path differe... | 10/18/2005 |
| 6947613 | Wavelength selective switch and equalizer A device comprising a light modulator including a plurality of elements wherein each element is selectively operable such that the plurality of elements are dynamically configurable to combine selected ones of a plurality of grating periods such that selected portio... | 09/20/2005 |
| 6934070 | Chirped optical MEM device A light modulator comprises a series of ribbons divided by a series of gaps. Sequences of consecutive ribbons and gaps are grouped together to form a plurality of pixels that are configured to process a respective plurality of wavelengths. The spacing from center-li... | 08/23/2005 |
| 6928207 | Apparatus for selectively blocking WDM channels An apparatus for selective blocking WDM channels comprises a light modulator, a diffraction grating, and a transform lens. The light modulator comprises an array of pixels. Each pixel of the light modulator is selectively operable to direct light into a first mode a... | 08/09/2005 |
| 6927891 | Tilt-able grating plane for improved crosstalk in 1×N blaze switches A light modulator includes elongated elements arranged parallel to each other. Each elongated element includes a light reflective planar surface with the light reflective planar surfaces configured in a first grating plane. A support structure is coupled to the elon... | 08/09/2005 |
| 6927909 | Integrated magneto-optical modulator with optical isolator, method of manufacturing the same and optical communication system using the same The integrated magneto-optical modulator with optical isolator of the present invention comprises an optical isolator unit, a magneto-optical modulator unit, an impedance adjuster. The optical isolator unit rotates a polarization of an incident light from a light so... | 08/09/2005 |
| 6922272 | Method and apparatus for leveling thermal stress variations in multi-layer MEMS devices A MEMS device such as a grating light valve™ light modulator is athermalized such that the force required to deflect the movable portion of the MEMS device remains constant over a range of temperatures. In MEMS embodiments directed to a grating light valve™ ligh... | 07/26/2005 |
| 6908201 | Micro-support structures A MEM device in accordance with the invention comprises one or more movable micro-structures which are preferably ribbon structures or cantilever structures. The ribbon structures or cantilever structures are preferably coupled to a substrate structure through one o... | 06/21/2005 |
| 6728436 | Optical signal modulation method and optical signal transmission system for high speed transmission system The invention relates to an optical signal transmission system with phase modulation and the implementation method. The system adds a phase modulator in the optical signal-emitting module. The optical pulses after intensity modulation and a high-speed data stream ar... | 04/27/2004 |
| 6724514 | Faraday rotator with improved magnetooptic property A liquid phase epitaxy method is used to grow the Faraday rotator with a small saturation field (Hs). The Faraday rotator has the formula: Bi3−x−y−zGdxTbyMzFe5−w−nGawPnO12 | 04/20/2004 |
| 6673146 | Method of manufacturing a magnet-free faraday rotator A method of manufacturing is used to manufacture a magnet-free Faraday rotator having a square hysteresis loop, the Faraday rotator being formed of a bismuth-substituted rare earth iron garnet single crystal that has a compensation temperature in the rang... | 01/06/2004 |
| 6483645 | Garnet crystal for Faraday rotator and optical isolator having the same An optical isolator comprsing at least two parts of a Faraday rotator obtained from a garnet crystal and an analyzer, which is small in size, can be mounted directly to a semiconductor laser. The garnet crystal is grown, by a liquid-phase epitaxial growth... | 11/19/2002 |
| 6462856 | Method and apparatus for modulating an optical signal using polarization A low-rate data transmission system and method are disclosed that use the Faraday effect to modulate the polarization state of light traveling in an optical fiber. The resulting change in polarization is used to communicate information over the fiber. The... | 10/08/2002 |
| 6462857 | Optical modulator and optical modulation method An optical modulator includes a magnetic ferrite single crystal, an optical source, a photoreceptor system and an analyzer. The magnetic ferrite single crystal has a transducer mounted and arranged to receive a microwave. The microwave is modulated by a s... | 10/08/2002 |
| 6309557 | Magnetic garnet material and faraday rotator using the same An object is to provide a magnetic garnet material, even if a thickness of an element is made thin, in which a sufficient Faraday rotation capacity can be obtained, a magnetic field for saturation can be controlled to be less than 200 (Oe), and a magnetic... | 10/30/2001 |
| 6275323 | Optical attenuator A specific polarized light component out of a light wave passed through a magneto-optic crystal (for example YIG) is extracted by a polarizer. The intensity of the light beam output from the polarizer depends on strength and direction of magnetic fields a... | 08/14/2001 |
| 6271954 | Waveguide absorption modulator with integral optical isolator Methods and apparatus for isolating a modulation region of an external modulator that has a semiconductor waveguide structure that comprises at least one integral isolation region.... | 08/07/2001 |
| 6018411 | Optical device utilizing magneto-optical effect The present invention provides an optical device making use of a magneto-optical effect. The optical device comprises: a reflector for reflecting an input beam as a reflected beam; a magneto-optical crystal provided so as to pass the input and reflected b... | 01/25/2000 |
| 6018412 | Optical attenuator A specific polarized light component out of a light wave passed through a magneto-optic crystal (for example YIG) is extracted by a polarizer. The intensity of the light beam output from the polarizer depends on strength and direction of magnetic fields a... | 01/25/2000 |
| 5999305 | Optical device which makes use of magneto-optical effect An optical device which can be used as a Faraday rotator which can provide an arbitrary Faraday rotation angle in accordance with a positional condition. The optical device includes first and second ports, magneto-optical crystal, and a unit for applying ... | 12/07/1999 |
| 5689361 | Apparatus and method for femtosecond pulse compression based on selective attenuation of a portion of an input power spectrum An apparatus for, and method of, decreasing a temporal duration of an optical input pulse having an input power spectrum associated therewith, the apparatus and method operative on at least unchirped optical input pulses. The apparatus comprises: (1) a ze... | 11/18/1997 |
| 5521741 | Polarization plane switch and optical switching device using the same A polarization plane switch comprising a Faraday rotator made of an iron-containing garnet single-crystal film and magnetic field applying devices capable of reversing a magnetic field to be applied to the Faraday rotator. The polarization plane switch ha... | 05/28/1996 |
| 5463316 | Magnetooptic sensor head A reflection type magnetooptic sensor head is disclosed. The respective structural elements are aligned following a light source in the order of a light inputting/outputting path, polarizer, Faraday rotator, and reflecting mirror. The Faraday rotator is m... | 10/31/1995 |
| 5402259 | Linear electroabsorptive modulator and related method of analog modulation of an optical carrier Apparatus, and a corresponding method for it use, for directly modulating an optical carrier with a radio-frequency (rf) electrical signal. A semiconductor electroabsorptive modulator is operated at an optical wavelength and electrical bias voltage carefu... | 03/28/1995 |
| 5351151 | Optical filter using microlens arrays An optical filter device comprised of two parallel arrays of lenses. Each lens in the first array faces a lens in the second array to form a pixel. Lens pairs in a pixel are separated by the sum of their focal distances and include in their common focal s... | 09/27/1994 |
| 5258869 | Xerographic laser light modulation with built-in light leveling using optical circulators An optical system in which optical circulators with polarization plates are used for light modulation of plane polarized light waves. The light modulation is used for black and white printing, grey scale printing and for adjustment of beam intensity of pl... | 11/02/1993 |
| 5255119 | Reflective magneto-optic device with an embedded conductor channel A reflective mode, magneto-optic spatial light modulator (MOSLM) device has planar electrical conductors which function both as optical mirror surfaces and as the address conductors for random access, selective switching of an associated individual pixel ... | 10/19/1993 |
| 5241412 | Magneto-optic device with reflective conductor A reflective mode, magneto-optic spatial light modulator (MOSLM) device has one or more pixel elements formed from a selected magneto-optic material with a respective pair of coincident current select electrical conductors associated with each pixel where... | 08/31/1993 |
| 4806885 | Magnet-electro-optic effect light modulator A magneto-electro-optic effect light modulator has a rectangular solid-like semiconductor element made of one member selected from the group of an n-type semiconductor, a p-type semiconductpr and an intrinsic semiconductor. The semiconductor element has n... | 02/21/1989 |