Photorefractive integrated-optical switch arrays in LiNbO(3).
A new optical switch design is reported that consists of two sets of parallel channel waveguides intersecting at right angles. Arrays based on Ti:LiNbO(3) technology, with waveguide intersections iron doped to provide photorefractive sensitivity, have been fabricated. Interfering guided beams are used to write index gratings at the waveguide intersections, which in turn diffract a portion of an incident signal beam into the crossing waveguide. Arrays ranging from 15 x 15 up to 50 x 50 waveguides are constructed in an active area of 5 mm x 5 mm. Diffraction efficiency and writing-time measurements are reported along with a proposal for a practical architecture.
Aronson
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Hesselink
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