Optical switch and method for assembling the same
Patent 6072924 Issued on June 6, 2000. Estimated Expiration Date: 
September 2, 2017. Estimated Expiration Date is calculated based on simple USPTO term provisions. It does not account for terminal disclaimers, term adjustments, failure to pay maintenance fees, or other factors which might affect the term of a patent.
September 2, 2017. Estimated Expiration Date is calculated based on simple USPTO term provisions. It does not account for terminal disclaimers, term adjustments, failure to pay maintenance fees, or other factors which might affect the term of a patent.Patent ReferencesElectrically controlled optical switching device Optical functional device of an optical waveguide type Optical switch using bubbles Total internal reflection optical switches employing thermal activation Patent #: 5699462 InventorsAssigneeApplicationNo. 921603 filed on 09/02/1997US Classes:385/18, Reflective-type switch385/16Switch (i.e., switching from one terminal to another, not modulation)ExaminersPrimary: Lee, John D.Assistant: Kang, Juliana K. Attorney, Agent or FirmForeign Patent References
International ClassG02B 006/35Foreign Application Priority Data1996-09-02 JPAbstractAn optical switch includes a substrate having therein optical waveguides made of silicon and a silicon layer deposited on its top surface. A space is formed in the crossing portion of the optical waveguides which is covered with a lid, preferably made of low alkali borosilicate glass, and which is bonded to the silicon layer by anodic bonding. Preferably, a groove is formed in a surface of the optical waveguide substrate or a bonding surface of the lid. The groove, after the lid has been bonded, makes a passage which communicates between the space and an outside. The passage is a pouring slit for pouring an index-matching liquid and is connected to the space which acts as a driving slit in which the index-matching liquid moves. In one embodiment, the width of the pouring slit is smaller than that of the driving slit. The optical switch can be manufactured by providing an optical waveguide substrate and a lid substrate, one of which is formed with a groove in its surface on which the two substrates are bonded. The optical waveguide substrate and the lid substrate are bonded together by anodic bonding to make a passage which communicates between the space formed in a crossing portion of the optical waveguides and an outside. The regulation of the volume of the index-matching liquid is time-, temperature-, or pressure-based regulation.Other References
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