Liquid Crystal Optical Element for Compact Photonic Coupling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current optical coupling systems face challenges in reducing size while maintaining high capacity, particularly due to the requirement for collimated incident light and the use of microlens arrays, which limits the miniaturization of optical communication devices.
Innovation Solution
The integration of a liquid crystal optical element with a photonic device featuring grating couplers, where the liquid crystal element separates light based on polarization or wavelength and directs it to corresponding photonic chips, eliminating the need for microlens arrays and enabling a compact design.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a beam displacer is combined with a microlens array to handle collimated incident light, then light separation function is achieved, but the size of the optical coupling system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the microlens array from the optical coupling system, retaining only the essential beam displacer component. This extraction eliminates the size increase caused by the microlens array while preserving the light separation function through the beam displacer alone.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the operational parameters by allowing the beam displacer to handle non-collimated incident light directly, eliminating the requirement for collimated light that would necessitate the microlens array. This parameter change enables size reduction while maintaining functionality.
2Volume of stationary object
If the optical coupling system is miniaturized by removing microlens arrays, then size is reduced, but the ability to handle collimated incident light is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent fundamentally changes the operational parameter from requiring collimated incident light to accepting non-collimated incident light directly. This parameter change enables the removal of microlens arrays and achieves miniaturization while the beam displacer maintains reliable light separation functionality under the new parameter conditions.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration allows for a smaller-sized optical coupling system and communication device with enhanced multi-channel optical communication capabilities, effectively addressing the size and capacity constraints of existing systems.
Implementation Method 1
the liquid crystal optical element separates light incident from the optical fiber depending on at least one of polarization or a wavelength
Implementation Method 2
an optically anisotropic liquid crystal material, such as yttrium vanadate (YVO4), α-barium borate (α-BBO), calcite (CaCO3), or rutile (TiO2)
Implementation Method 3
each of the plurality of photonic chips includes a grating coupler
Data Source
AI summary
Provided are a small-sized optical coupling system and an optical communication device using the optical coupling system. An optical coupling system includes a liquid crystal optical element, and a photonic device having a plurality of photonic chips, and couples an optical fiber to the photonic device, in which each of the photonic chips includes a grating coupler, the liquid crystal optical element separates incident signal light depending on at least one of polarization or a wavelength to emit light in different directions, and each separated signal light component is incident into the grating coupler of the corresponding photonic chip.