US 12,271,036 B2
Waveguide network
Douglas James Kelly, Cambridge (GB); Benn Charles Thomsen, Cambridge (GB); Dushyanth Narayanan, Cambridge (GB); Antony Ian Taylor Rowstron, Cambridge (GB); and Andreas Georgiou, Cambridge (GB)
Assigned to Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC, Redmond, WA (US)
Appl. No. 17/904,788
Filed by Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC, Redmond, WA (US)
PCT Filed Feb. 22, 2021, PCT No. PCT/US2021/018955
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Aug. 23, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/194670, PCT Pub. Date Sep. 30, 2021.
Claims priority of application No. 20165944 (EP), filed on Mar. 26, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2023/0048079 A1, Feb. 16, 2023
Int. Cl. G02B 6/35 (2006.01); G02B 27/28 (2006.01); G11B 7/0065 (2006.01); G11B 7/135 (2012.01)
CPC G02B 6/3534 (2013.01) [G02B 6/35 (2013.01); G02B 6/3512 (2013.01); G11B 7/0065 (2013.01); G11B 7/135 (2013.01); G02B 27/283 (2013.01)] 14 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A multimode optical waveguide network comprising:
a parent waveguide; and
first and second child waveguides;
wherein each of the parent waveguide and the first and second child waveguides is a multimode optical waveguide having a first surface region, at least two second surface regions, and at least one guiding element, wherein at least one of the second surface regions of the parent waveguide is optically coupled to the first surface region of the first child waveguide, and wherein at least one other of the second surface regions of the parent waveguide is optically coupled to the first surface region of the second child waveguide; and
wherein the at least one guiding element of the parent waveguide is arranged to guide a beam, from or to the first surface region of the parent waveguide, to or from any selected second surface region of the at least two second surface regions of the parent waveguide, the beam being coupled into or received from the corresponding first or second child waveguide whose first surface region is optically coupled to the selected second surface region of the parent waveguide, via the selected second surface region of the parent waveguide and the first surface region of the corresponding first or second child waveguide, the at least one guiding element of each of the first and second child waveguides is arranged to guide a beam, from or to the first surface region of the respective first or second child waveguide, to or from any selected second surface region of the at least two second surface regions of the respective first or second child waveguide, wherein the at least one guiding element of each of the parent waveguide and the first and second child waveguides is configurable for switching guidance of the beam between the at least two second surface regions of that waveguide via at least one of changing an optical property of the at least one guiding element or modulation of at least one beam characteristic.