Embodiments herein describe using an actuator to tune a waveguide. In one embodiment, the tunable waveguide includes a gap between the waveguide and cladding. The actuator can compress the cladding to shrink this air, bringing the cladding closer to the waveguide. Doing so changes the effective refractive index of the waveguide. Alternatively or additionally, the actuator can increase the gap.

Hybrid optical integration places very strict manufacturing tolerances and performance requirements upon the multiple elements to exploit passive alignment techniques as well as having additional processing requirements. Alternatively, active alignment and soldering/fixing where feasible is also complex and time consuming with 3, 4, or 6-axis control of each element. However, microelectromechanical (MEMS) systems can sense, control, and activate mechanical processes on the micro scale. Beneficially, therefore the inventors combine silicon MEMS based micro-actuators with silicon CMOS control and drive circuits in order to provide alignment of elements within a silicon optical circuit either with respect to each other or with other optical elements hybridly integrated such as compound semiconductor elements. Such inventive MEMS based circuits may be either maintained as active during deployment or powered off once the alignment has been locked through an attachment/retention/latching process.

A display device includes a backlight unit and a display panel disposed on the backlight unit. The backlight unit includes a light guide plate including a plurality of charged particles, a light source unit disposed at a side of the light guide plate and providing light to the light guide plate, and a transparent electrode disposed under the light guide plate. Each of the plurality of charged particles includes first and second charged portions which have charge values of which polarities are different from each other. The first charged portion reflects the light received from the light source unit, and the second charged portion absorbs the light received from the light source unit. Positions of the first and second charged portions of each of the plurality of charged particles are controlled based on a voltage applied to the transparent electrode.

An optical switching system comprising a switching cell having first and second fixed-position bus waveguides and a moveable shunt waveguide is disclosed. The first bus waveguide includes an input and a first output. The second bus waveguide includes a second output. When the switching cell is in its unswitched state, the shunt waveguide is not optically coupled with either bus waveguide and a light signal can pass from the input to the first output while remaining in the first bus waveguide. When the switching cell is in its switched state, the shunt waveguide is optically coupled with both bus waveguides such that the light signal is coupled out of the first bus waveguide and into the second bus waveguide via the shunt waveguide. As a result, the light signal can pass from the input to the second output while bypassing the first input.

The invention provides a device comprising a movable micromirror adapted to receive light from one or more light source(s) and manipulate the reflected light. The micromirror can be actuated electrothermally. In particular, the micromirror is adapted to do at least one of: (a) tipping along a first axis; (b) tilting along a second axis; (c) changing focal length (i.e., varifocal mode); and (d) elevating (i.e., piston mode). The invention also provides a system comprising at least one device comprising a movable micromirror and at least one light source. The invention can be used in smart lighting applications.

An active-control optical resonator includes an oxide layer; a ring resonator arranged in a loop and positioned on the oxide layer; a tangential optical waveguide optically coupled to the ring resonator; a translatable body configured to selectively move into an evanescent field region of the ring resonator; a first electrode positioned on the translatable body, the first electrode comprising indium tin oxide; and a second electrode positioned between the oxide layer and the ring resonator.

The present disclosure discloses a micro-mirror array, and a backlight module and a display device using the same. Each reflection mirror in the micro-mirror array comprises a first axis of deflection and a second axis of deflection perpendicular to the first axis of deflection, and a deflection angle of the reflection mirror is controlled individually and continuously. The backlight module comprises a light source, a micro-mirror array and a control unit. The control unit adjusts a deflection angle of each reflection mirror in the micro-mirror array in response to a backlight control signal, so that depending on the backlight control signal, the micro-mirror array reflects light emitted from the light source evenly to an entire surface of the display screen or converges the light to one or more areas of the display screen.

A display device includes a backlight unit and a display panel disposed on the backlight unit. The backlight unit includes a light guide plate including a plurality of charged particles, a light source unit disposed at a side of the light guide plate and providing light to the light guide plate, and a transparent electrode disposed under the light guide plate. Each of the plurality of charged particles includes first and second charged portions which have charge values of which polarities are different from each other. The first charged portion reflects the light received from the light source unit, and the second charged portion absorbs the light received from the light source unit. Positions of the first and second charged portions of each of the plurality of charged particles are controlled based on a voltage applied to the transparent electrode.

Optical switch for adjustable deflection of a light beam from the direction of an input point in the direction of one of several output points. The optical switch includes a switching mirror sensitive to changes in environmental conditions, such as temperature fluctuations. Also included is a rotatable capturing mirror, two beam splitters, and two spatially-resolving detectors. Both mirrors can be rotated around respective axes. A front beam splitter for the partial coupling of the light beam at the front detector that is optically positioned between the capturing mirror and the switching mirror, while the back beam splitter for the partial decoupling of the light beam at the back detector is arranged optically between the switching mirror and each of the output positions. A control unit is adapted to control the drive of the switching mirror on the basis of a signal from the back detector.

Various particular embodiments include a primary waveguide including an end section; cantilevered waveguides, each cantilevered waveguide including an end section disposed adjacent the end section of the primary waveguide; and control pins for applying an electrical bias to the cantilevered waveguides to selectively displace the end sections of the cantilevered waveguides away from the end section of the primary waveguide.