A self-lit display panel includes a photonic integrated circuit payer including an array of waveguides and an array of out-couplers for out-coupling portions of the illuminating light through pixels of the panel. The self-lit display panel may include a transparent electronic circuitry layer backlit by the photonic integrated circuit layer; the two layers may be on a same substrate or on opposed substrates defining a cell filled with an electro-active material. The configuration allows for chief ray engineering, zonal illuminating, and separate illumination with red, green, and blue illuminating light.

An optical scanning device includes: a first waveguide that propagates light by total reflection; and a second waveguide. The second waveguide includes: a first multilayer reflective film; a second multilayer reflective film that faces the first multilayer reflective film; and a first optical waveguide layer directly connected to the first waveguide and located between the first and second multilayer reflective films. The first optical waveguide layer has a variable thickness and/or a variable refractive index and propagates the light transmitted through the first waveguide. The first multilayer reflective film has a higher light transmittance than the second multilayer reflective film and allows part of the light propagating through the first optical waveguide layer to be emitted to the outside. By changing the thickness of the first optical waveguide layer and/or its refractive index, the direction of the part of the light emitted from the second waveguide is changed.

An optical device includes a first waveguide that propagates light in a first direction; and a second waveguide including a first mirror, a second mirror, and an optical waveguide layer. The first mirror extends in the first direction and has a first reflecting surface, and the second mirror extends in the first direction and has a second reflecting surface. The optical waveguide layer is located between the first and second mirrors and propagates the light in the first direction. A forward end portion of the first waveguide is disposed inside the optical waveguide layer. In a region in which the first and second waveguides overlap each other when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the first reflecting surface, at least part of the first waveguide and/or at least part of the second waveguide includes at least one grating whose refractive index varies periodically in the first direction.

An integral chip is disclosed by embodiments of the present disclosure, including: two mono-mode vertical coupling gratings, two modulation modules, one 2×1 multi-mode interference coupler, and one dual-mode vertical coupling grating. The integral chip is capable of operating in dual wavelengths and dual polarization states by combination of polarization multiplexing and wavelength division multiplexing so as to realize modulation of complex formats and to enhance data modulation rate.

In a terahertz wave generation apparatus including a first non-linear optical crystal 3 on which first laser L1 and second laser L2 from laser generation means 2 are incident to generate terahertz wave TH1, the laser generation means includes a second non-linear optical crystal 7 on which laser having the same wavelength as that of the second laser is incident to generate idler light L1 including a plurality of wavelengths, and makes the idler light L1 generated from the second non-linear optical crystal incident on the first non-linear optical crystal as the first laser L1, to generate terahertz wave including a plurality of wavelengths from the first non-linear optical crystal 3, and wavelength selection means including a transmission section which transmits an idler light having the specific wavelength in the idler light including the plurality of wavelengths can be provided, as needed. Thus, terahertz wave having a high output power and including a plurality of wavelengths can be obtained, and the wavelength selection means easily obtains a required terahertz wave having the specific wavelength.

An integrated optical beam steering device includes a planar dielectric lens that collimates beams from different inputs in different directions within the lens plane. It also includes an output coupler, such as a grating or photonic crystal, that guides the collimated beams in different directions out of the lens plane. A switch matrix controls which input port is illuminated and hence the in-plane propagation direction of the collimated beam. And a tunable light source changes the wavelength to control the angle at which the collimated beam leaves the plane of the substrate. The device is very efficient, in part because the input port (and thus in-plane propagation direction) can be changed by actuating only log.sub.2 N of the N switches in the switch matrix. It can also be much simpler, smaller, and cheaper because it needs fewer control lines than a conventional optical phased array with the same resolution.

An optical device includes a first waveguide extending in a first direction and a second waveguide connected to the first waveguide. The second waveguide includes a first mirror, a second mirror, and an optical waveguide layer. At least either the first waveguide or the second waveguide has one or more gratings in a part of a connection region in which the first mirror, the second mirror, and the first waveguide overlap one another when seen from an angle parallel with a direction perpendicular to a first reflecting surface of the first mirror. The one or more gratings is at a distance that is longer than at least either a thickness of the first mirror or a thickness of the second mirror in the first direction from an end of the first mirror or the second mirror that is in the connection region.

An electro-holographic light field generator device is disclosed. The light field generator device has an optical substrate with a waveguide face and an exit face. One or more surface acoustic wave (SAW) optical modulator devices are included within each light field generator device. The SAW devices each include a light input, a waveguide, and a SAW transducer, all configured for guided mode confinement of input light within the waveguide. A leaky mode deflection of a portion of the waveguided light, or diffractive light, impinges upon the exit face. Multiple output optics at the exit face are configured for developing from each of the output optics a radiated exit light from the diffracted light for at least one of the waveguides. An RF controller is configured to control the SAW devices to develop the radiated exit light as a three-dimensional output light field with horizontal parallax and compatible with observer vertical motion.

An optical scanning device includes: a first waveguide that propagates light by total reflection; and a second waveguide. The second waveguide includes: a first multilayer reflective film; a second multilayer reflective film that faces the first multilayer reflective film; and a first optical waveguide layer directly connected to the first waveguide and located between the first and second multilayer reflective films. The first optical waveguide layer has a variable thickness and/or a variable refractive index and propagates the light transmitted through the first waveguide. The first multilayer reflective film has a higher light transmittance than the second multilayer reflective film and allows part of the light propagating through the first optical waveguide layer to be emitted to the outside. By changing the thickness of the first optical waveguide layer and/or its refractive index, the direction of the part of the light emitted from the second waveguide is changed.

A self-lit display panel includes a photonic integrated circuit payer including an array of waveguides and an array of out-couplers for out-coupling portions of the illuminating light through pixels of the panel. The self-lit display panel may include a transparent electronic circuitry layer backlit by the photonic integrated circuit layer; the two layers may be on a same substrate or on opposed substrates defining a cell filled with an electro-active material. The configuration allows for chief ray engineering, zonal illuminating, and separate illumination with red, green, and blue illuminating light.