Abstract

A polarization-independent, broadband, bistable, 2 × 2 optical exchange switch utilizing a surface-stabilized ferroelectric liquid-crystal device is presented. The switch has <−15-dB cross talk over a 50-nm optical bandwidth, with a minimum of −18 dB at 615 nm. By modeling the individual components the theoretical output of the device is obtained, which agrees well with experimental results. Four independent 2 × 2 switches incorporated into one single compact device are also demonstrated. The typical switching time for these switches is ∼150 μsec.

© 1990 Optical Society of America

Liquid crystal 1 × N optical switch

Larry R. McAdams and Joseph W. Goodman
Opt. Lett. 15(20) 1150-1152 (1990)

Bistable spatial light modulator using a ferroelectric liquid crystal

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Bistable optical switching using electrochemically generated bubbles

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