A novel vertical Δκ directional coupler switch using liquid crystals

Abstract
To decrease the switching length of the directional coupler switch and to use the advantages of the electro-optic properties of (LC's), we propose a novel vertical /spl Delta//spl kappa/ directional coupler switch using LC's and present the calculated results relevant to the design considerations. Because of the large birefringence of LC's, a very short switching length less than 60 /spl mu/m is possible. Besides, a N/spl times/N switch is also proposed for practical applications.