{
  "patent_number": "US RE39833",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "Using Heat to Move Tiny Mirrors for Controlling Light Beams",
  "original_title": "USRE39833E1 - Thermally actuated spectroscopic optical switch",
  "summary": "A system that uses tiny, heat-powered mechanical arms to move mirrors into the path of light beams, effectively acting as a switch for fiber optic networks.",
  "what_it_does": "This patent describes an optical switch built on a small substrate, similar to a computer chip. It uses 'cantilevered arms'—small beams anchored at one end—that hold a tiny mirror at the other. When heat or electricity is applied, the arm bends due to differences in how its materials expand, pushing the mirror into the path of a light beam coming from an optical fiber. This allows the system to physically redirect light from one fiber to another, acting like a railroad switch for data signals.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Does not cover optical switches that use magnetic fields or electrostatic force to move mirrors.",
    "Does not cover systems where the light path is redirected by changing the refractive index of a material rather than physically moving a mirror.",
    "Does not cover switches that do not use a cantilevered arm structure with specific thermal expansion properties."
  ],
  "filed": "2005-06-13",
  "granted": "2007-09-11",
  "expires": null,
  "status": "active",
  "holder": "Southwest Research Institute SwRI",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/southwest-research-institute-swri",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "Martin Peter Wuest",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/martin-peter-wuest"
    },
    {
      "name": "Joseph Nathan Mitchell",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/joseph-nathan-mitchell"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 1,
  "tags": [
    "telecommunications",
    "semiconductors",
    "mechanical"
  ],
  "abstract": "A thermally actuated spectroscopic optical switch including reflective surfaces which are selectively moved into a position intersecting a beam of light by applying electrical or heat energy to a selected composite cantilever beam on which the reflective surface is mounted.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/RE39833/tpa-variants",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/RE39833/tpa-variants/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/USRE39833",
  "relatedPatents": []
}