Microring resonators are devices that includes a set of waveguides that guide light, where at least one of the waveguides is a closed loop that operates to increase an intensity of the light over each round-trip. Microring resonators can be configured to operate as light filters and/or light modulators, and have application, for example, in the field of optical communication technology. Due to temperature sensitivity of microring resonators, however, a heating device is needed to maintain a microring resonator at a desired temperature. The present disclosure provides a microring resonator heating device that includes at least two coaxially arranged contacts providing radial current flow to heat the microring resonator.

A vehicular vision system includes a plurality of cameras and an ECU. The cameras are in communication with one another via a vehicle network and image data captured by the cameras is provided to the ECU. Responsive to a type of driving maneuver of the vehicle, (i) the ECU generates a first control signal that enables automatic control of exposure, gain and white balance of one camera of the plurality of cameras and (ii) the ECU generates respective second control signals that disable automatic control of exposure, gain and white balance of at least one other camera of the plurality of cameras. Responsive to processing of captured image data, composite video images derived from image data captured by the plurality of cameras are synthesized, and composite images are displayed that provides bird's eye view video images derived from video image data captured by the cameras.

The disclosure relates to displays. In one arrangement a plurality of pixels is provided in which each pixel comprises a phase change material thermally switchable between a plurality of stable states. Each pixel comprises a switching device configured to heat the phase change material, and thereby thermally switch the phase change material, in response to a control signal. The switching device comprises a single electronic component capable of being switched between different states by the control signal and configured such that heat received by the phase change material of the pixel during the thermal switching of the phase change material of the pixel consists predominantly of heat generated within the single electronic component.

It relates to a thermo-responsive dual band electrochromic device, which is capable of selectively controlling the amount of sunlight radiation transmitted in the visible and in the near-infrared regions by operating under four distinct optical regimes, namely: fully transparent, visible blocking, near-infrared blocking, and fully blocking. The device can be regulated either by an electric stimulus, namely by controlling the sign and the intensity of the applied bias voltage, or by a thermal stimulus. In the latter the attenuation of incoming thermal radiation results increased as temperature increases. The thermo-responsive dual band electrochromic device comprises a first electrode consisting of a first transparent conductive substrate topped by a first electro-optically active layer and a second electrode consisting of a second transparent conductive substrate topped by a second electro-optically active layer separated by a temperature-dependent ion conductive layer consisting of a thermo-responsive polymer gel, an ion conductor and a plasticizer.

A light detection and ranging (LiDAR) system is provided. The LiDAR system includes an emitter for emitting a light beam, a configurable light processing control unit to affect the light beam, a receiver for receiving the light beam and a computer system. The computer system controls operations of the light processing control unit, computes a distance to a target using a time of flight of the light beam from the emitter to the target and from the target to the receiver and simultaneously corroborates the computed distance by controlling the operations of the light processing control unit to focus and defocus the light beam.

A first pixel with a first pixel sidewall is disclosed. A second pixel with a second pixel sidewall facing the first pixel sidewall is also disclosed. A first dynamic optical isolation material between the first pixel sidewall and the second pixel sidewall and configured to change an optical state based on a state trigger such that a light behavior at the first pixel sidewall for a light emitted by one of the first pixel and the second pixel is determined by the optical state, is also disclosed.

The present invention relates to a device and a method for limiting the output of a laser, wherein a reflecting device arranged in the optical path of a laser beam comprises a switching layer which comprises or consists of a material exhibiting a metal-insulator transition and a reflecting layer which is positioned downstream of the switching layer in the optical path of the laser beam, wherein the reflecting device is configured such that an output of the laser beam when it is incident upon the reflecting device which exceeds a predefined threshold causes a change in the refractive index of the material in the switching layer, and the output of the laser beam reflected by the reflecting device is thus reduced as compared to the output of the laser beam when it is incident upon the reflecting device due to reduced reflection by the reflecting device.

An optical device includes a substrate, a dielectric substance laminated on the substrate, an optical waveguide surrounded by the dielectric substance, a heater electrode that is disposed above the optical waveguide and that is surrounded by the dielectric substance, and a trench. The trench includes a plurality of split trenches each of which is formed in a hollow segmented shape in the dielectric substance and in which the split trenches are disposed in parallel with the heater electrode. The split trenches are disposed in parallel with the heater electrode such that an area of the dielectric substance located between an end of each of the split trenches and a side surface of the heater electrode is gradually expanded.

A semiconductor device include: a first bus waveguide; a first silicon ring optically coupled to the first bus waveguide; a backup silicon ring optically coupled to the first bus waveguide; a first heater and a second heater configured to heat the first silicon ring and the backup silicon ring, respectively; and a first switch, where the first switch is configured to electrically couple the first silicon ring to a first radio frequency (RF) circuit when the first switch is at a first switching position, and is configured to electrically couple the backup silicon ring to the first RF circuit when the first switch is at a second switching position.

A semiconductor structure includes, an optical component and a thermal control mechanism. The optical component includes a first main path that splits into a first side path and a second side path so that the first side path and the second side path are separated from one another. The thermal control mechanism configured to control a temperature of both the first side path and the second side path, wherein the first thermal control mechanism includes a first thermoelectric member and a second thermoelectric member that are positioned between the first side path and the second side path and the first thermoelectric member and the second thermoelectric member have opposite conductive types.