1. A method of developing user-generated challenges in a virtual environment, the method comprising:
receiving registration information transmitted over a communication network;
validating the registration information;
establishing a user account on a computer and associating a first virtual character with the user account;
granting a user, via said user account, access to a course creation tool comprising a plurality of different course portions that are selectable to be arranged in different ways in the virtual environment to construct a course to be navigated from a start point to an end point,
controlling access to said course to allow navigation of the course by another virtual character in the virtual environment, different than said first virtual character;
including along the course, to be encountered by the another virtual character between the starting point and the end point, a challenge region that is to interfere with a progression of the another virtual character along the course in a direction generally toward the end point; and
offering a plurality of virtual obstacles represented by icons that are selectable for inclusion in the challenge region, wherein the another virtual character will be required to interact with at least one of the virtual obstacles included in the challenge region before continuing the progression along the course beyond the challenge region.
2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising establishing a second user account on the computer and associating a second virtual character with the second user account.
3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising granting the different user, via another user computer, access to navigate the course with the second virtual character as said another virtual character.
4. The method according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of virtual obstacles can be included in a first challenge region and are prohibited from being included in a second challenge region.
5. The method according to claim 1, wherein said course is a simulated three-dimensional maze.
6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the registration information comprises a registration code associated with a real-world toy that is received over the Internet.
7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the virtual character is a virtual replica of the real-world toy.
8. The method according to claim, 7 wherein the real-world toy is a plush hamster and the virtual character is a virtual hamster.
9. The method according to claim 1 further comprising:
subsequent to validating the registration information, receiving additional registration information associated with a purchased real-world toy over the communication network; and
granting the user access to at least one additional course portion in the course creation tool in response to successful validation of the additional registration information, wherein said access to the at least one additional course portion is restricted at a time between said validating the registration information and said receiving additional registration information.
10. The method according to claim 1 further comprising, during arrangement of the different course portions in the virtual environment, receiving an instruction to rotate at least a portion of the course, and in response to said receiving the instruction, rotating the at least a portion of the course about one or more axes in a simulated three-dimensional space to provide the user with views of the course from multiple different angles.
11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the different course portions comprise a plurality of substantially-tubular segments that collectively form an interior passage through which the another virtual character is to travel, wherein each of said substantially-tubular segments comprises a different shape.
12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the different course portions further comprise a virtual room that is to be installed between two or more of the substantially-tubular segments, wherein an interior portion of the virtual room includes the challenge region.
13. The method according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of obstacles comprises an input device that the another virtual character must interact with to allow the another virtual character to exit the challenge region and continue the progression along the course.
14. The method according to claim 13, wherein each of the plurality of virtual obstacles available for selection and inclusion in the challenge region appears as a graphic in an obstacle menu from which the virtual obstacles can be placed at desired locations in the challenge region using a drag-and-drop operation.
15. The method according to claim 14 further comprising receiving, over the communication network, an order in which the another virtual character is required to interact with each of the virtual obstacles included in the challenge region to exit the challenge region and continue the progression along the course toward the end point.
16. The method according to claim 15, wherein said order is specified via an iconic programming interface in which the icons representing each virtual obstacle are programmed.
17. The method according to claim 1 further comprising granting the user access to a user-generated course constructed by a different user to navigate the user-generated course with the virtual character.
18. The method according to claim 1, wherein said granting the user access to the course creation tool comprises transmitting information indicative of a quantity of one or more of the course portions available for selection.
19. The method according to claim 18 further comprising:
offering for sale to said user a unit of the one or more of the course portions selectable by the user, wherein a purchase of said unit by said user increases the quantity of the one or more course portions available for selection by the user; and
associating the quantity of the one or more course portions available for selection with the user account.
20. The method according to claim 19, wherein the one or more course portions are purchased using virtual currency that does not constitute legal tender outside of the virtual environment, currency that is legal tender outside of the virtual environment, or a combination of the virtual currency and the legal tender.
21. The method according to claim 18 further comprising:
serving content that allows the user to perform a build operation to build a unit of the one or more of the course portions available for selection, wherein the build operation increases the quantity of the one or more course portions available for selection; and
associating the quantity of the one or more of the course portions available for selection with the user account.
22. The method according to claim 21, wherein a delay required between performance of consecutive build operations depends at least in part on a number of virtual characters associated with the user account.
23. The method according to claim 1 further comprising associating a difficulty to said course relative to at least one other course in the virtual environment.
24. The method according to claim 23 further comprising grouping the course with at least one similarly-difficult course in the virtual environment.
25. The method according to claim 1 further comprising recording a time required for the another virtual character to complete the course.
26. A method of creating a user-generated challenge in a virtual environment, the method comprising:
associating a first virtual character with a user account created for a user on a computer;
granting access to a maze creation tool based on said user account, said maze creation tool comprising a plurality of maze portions that are selectable to be arranged in the virtual environment to construct a simulated three-dimensional maze to be navigated from a start point to an end point by another virtual character in the virtual environment, wherein said another virtual character is associated with another user account created for a different user;
transmitting information indicative of a quantity of a plurality of the maze portions available for selection by the user to be included in the maze;
associating a second virtual character with the user account;
prior to associating the second virtual character with the user account, prohibiting the user from access to a previously-restricted maze portion for inclusion in the maze, and subsequent to associating the second virtual character with the user account, granting the user access to the previously-restricted maze portion that is selectable for inclusion in the maze, the previously-restricted maze portion being different from the plurality of maze portions; and
granting the different user, via another user computer, access to navigate the maze with the another virtual character.
27. The method according to claim 26, wherein said granting the different user access to navigate the maze comprises:
receiving a request to establish the user and the different user as friends in the virtual environment;
allowing the different user to navigate the maze with the another virtual character; and
restricting access to the maze by a non-friend user with a third virtual character in the virtual environment.
28. The method according to claim 26 further comprising transmitting information indicative of a quantity of one or more of the maze portions available for selection by the user.
29. The method according to claim 28 further comprising:
serving content that allows the user to perform a build operation to build a unit of the one or more of the maze portions available for selection, wherein the build operation increases the quantity of the one or more maze portions available for selection; and
associating the quantity of the one or more of the maze portions available for selection with the user account.
30. The method according to claim 29 further comprising receiving, over a communication network, a designation of selected virtual characters associated with the user account to be allocated to the build operation, wherein
a length of time required following the build operation before a subsequent build operation involving at least one of the selected virtual characters can be initiated depends at least in part on the number of selected virtual characters allocated to the build operation.
31. The method according to claim 28, wherein the quantity of the one or more maze portions is increased in response to association of a third virtual character with the user account.
32. The method according to claim 31, wherein the third virtual character is associated with the user account in response to validation of a registration code associated with a purchased toy.
33. The method according to claim 32, wherein the third virtual character is a virtual replica of the purchased toy.
34. The method according to claim 26 further comprising, during arrangement of the maze portions in the virtual environment, receiving an instruction to adjust a viewpoint of the maze and, in response to said receiving the instruction, adjusting the at least a portion of the maze about one or more axes in a simulated three-dimensional space to provide the user with views of the maze from multiple different angles.
35. A method of creating a user-generated challenge in a virtual environment, the method comprising:
associating a plurality of virtual characters with a user account created for a user on a computer;
receiving an access request for the virtual environment from a user computer over a communication network;
granting access to a maze creation tool, based on said user account, said maze creation tool comprising a plurality of maze portions that are selectable by the user to be arranged in the virtual environment to construct a simulated three-dimensional maze to be navigated by another virtual character in the virtual environment, wherein said another virtual character is associated with another user account created for a different user;
transmitting information indicative of a quantity of a plurality of the maze portions available for selection by the user from the maze creation tool to be included in the maze;
receiving an instruction to perform a first build operation that adds at least one unit to the quantity of one or more of the maze portions available for selection by the user;
receiving, over the communication network, a designation of one or more of the virtual characters associated with the user account as selected virtual characters that are to be allocated to the first build operation;
requiring a length of time to elapse before a subsequent build operation involving at least one of the selected virtual characters allocated to the first build operation can be initiated, where said length of time depends at least in part on a quantity of selected virtual characters allocated to the first build operation; and
granting the different user, via another user computer, access to navigate the maze constructed using the maze portions with the another virtual character.
36. The method according to claim 35 further comprising associating with the user account the quantity of the one or more of the maze portions available for selection by the user, including the at least one unit added to the quantity by the first build operation.
37. The method according to claim 35, wherein said associating the plurality of virtual characters with the user account comprises:
receiving registration information associated with a purchased toy over the communication network;
validating said registration information; and
associating at least one of the virtual characters with the user account in response to successfully validating said registration information.
38. The method according to claim 37, wherein the at least one of the virtual characters is a virtual replica of the purchased toy.
39. The method according to claim 35 further comprising receiving a selection of a specific maze portion from the plurality of maze portions included in the maze creation tool, wherein the first build operation adds the at least one unit to the quantity of the specific maze portion.
40. The method according to claim 35 further comprising transmitting information indicative of the length of time remaining before the subsequent build operation can be initiated involving the at least one of the selected virtual characters allocated to the first build operation, wherein the length of time remaining is to be displayed by the user computer.
41. The method according to claim 40, wherein the information indicative of the length of time comprises information that allows the user computer to display a countdown to completion of the length of time.
42. The method according to claim 35 further comprising limiting the quantity of the selected virtual characters that are selectable for allocation to the first build operation to no more than a maximum number of the virtual characters, wherein the maximum number is less than a total number of the virtual characters associated with the user account.
43. The method according to claim 35 further comprising:
adding the at least one unit to the quantity of the one or more of the maze portions available for selection by the user in response to said receiving the instruction to perform the first build operation; and
restricting use of the selected virtual characters in the subsequent build operation for at least the length of time following said adding the at least one unit to the quantity of the one or more maze portions.
44. A method of interacting in a virtual world, the method comprising:
associating a virtual character representing a purchased toy with a user account created for a user on a computer that has a connection to a communication network;
associating a plurality of non-player characters with each of a plurality of virtual zones of the virtual world;
subsequent to said associating the virtual character, receiving commands input via the communication network to control the virtual character within a three-dimensional rendering of the virtual world, wherein the commands input request an interaction between the virtual character and one or more of the non-player characters within the three-dimensional rendering of the virtual world;
in response to said receiving commands, establishing the interaction between the virtual character and the one or more of the non-player characters, resulting in a communication from the one or more of the non-player characters to the virtual character; and
subsequent to said associating the virtual character, serving content over the communication network to be received by the user computer and said content representing a three-dimensional rendering of a virtual course that is to be navigated by the virtual character.
45. The method according to claim 44, wherein the content to be used to generate the three-dimensional rendering of the virtual course comprises a third-person view of the virtual character navigating the virtual course.
46. The method according to claim 45, wherein the virtual character comprises an appearance of a hamster in a ball and the virtual course comprises a network of generally-tubular interior passages.
47. The method according to claim 44, wherein each of the plurality of different non-player characters is associated with one of the plurality of zones, and is specific to a theme of the one of the plurality of zones.
48. The method according to claim 44, wherein the communication resulting from said interaction comprises a challenge issued by the one or more of the non-player characters to the virtual character.
49. The method according to claim 48 further comprising associating a relationship parameter with the virtual character, wherein the relationship parameter is indicative of a relative closeness of a relationship between the virtual character and the one or more of the non-player characters and is improved in response to successful completion of the challenge.
50. The method according to claim 44, wherein the three-dimensional rendering of the virtual world comprises an open, substantially-unbounded arena and the three-dimensional rendering of the virtual course is separate from the arena.
51. A method of developing a user-generated challenge in a virtual environment, the method comprising:
entering registration information into a user computer and transmitting the registration information over a communication network for validation;
receiving first information indicative of successful validation of the registration information;
providing second information for creating a user account;
subsequent to said providing, accessing a virtual character associated with the user account;
using a course creation tool on said user computer to select one of a plurality of different course portions that are selectable to be arranged in the virtual environment;
using said course creation tool to select others of said plurality of different course portions, to select plural course portions;
arranging the plural different course portions in the virtual environment to construct a course to be navigated from a start point to an end point;
selecting for inclusion along the course, to be encountered a virtual character travelling between the starting point and the end point, a challenge region that is to interfere with a progression of the virtual character along the course in a direction generally toward the end point;
selecting a plurality of virtual obstacles for inclusion in the challenge region, wherein the virtual character will be required to interact with at least one of the virtual obstacles included in the challenge region before continuing the progression along the course beyond the challenge region; and
submitting the course for publication to allow the course to be accessed and navigated by another virtual character.
52. The method as in claim 51, further comprising allowing the course to be accessed by a different user.
53. The method of claim 51, wherein the course is a simulated three-dimensional maze.
54. The method according to claim 51, wherein the registration information comprises a registration code associated with a real-world toy and said virtual character is a virtual replica of the real-world toy.
55. The method according to claim 51 further comprising:
subsequent to said receiving the information indicative of successful validation, transmitting additional registration information associated with a purchased real-world toy over the communication network for validation; and
gaining access to at least one additional course portion in the course creation tool in response to successful validation of the additional registration information, wherein said access to the at least one additional course portion is restricted at a time between said receiving information indicative of successful validation of the registration information and said transmitting additional registration information.
56. The method according to claim 51 further comprising requesting rotation of at least a portion of the course during construction, and in response to said requesting, displaying rotation of the at least a portion of the course about one or more axes in a simulated three-dimensional space to provide views of the course from multiple different angles.
57. The method according to claim 51 further comprising specifying an order in which another virtual character is required to interact with each of the virtual obstacles included in the challenge region to exit the challenge region and continue the progression along the course toward the end point.
58. The method according to claim 57, wherein said order is specified via an iconic programming interface in which icons representing each virtual obstacle are programmed.
59. The method according to claim 51 further comprising initiating a build operation that increases a quantity of the one or more course portions available for selection.
60. A method of creating a user-generated challenge in a virtual environment, the method comprising:
transmitting, over a communication network, a request to register a first virtual character and associate the first virtual character with a user account;
accessing a maze creation tool comprising a plurality of maze portions;
selecting the plurality of maze portions and arranging the plurality of maze portions selected into a three-dimensional maze in the virtual environment that is to be navigated from a start point to an end point by another virtual character in the virtual environment, wherein said another virtual character is associated with another user account created for a remotely-located user;
receiving an indication of a quantity of a plurality of the maze portions available to be included in the maze;
transmitting, over the communication network, a request to register a second virtual character and associate the second virtual character with the user account;
subsequent to said transmitting the request to register the second virtual character, selecting a previously-restricted maze portion for inclusion in the maze, the previously-restricted maze portion being different from the plurality of maze portions; and
submitting the maze for publication to allow the maze to be accessed by the remotely-located user, via a user computer, and navigated with the another virtual character.
61. The method according to claim 60 further comprising requesting performance of a build operation to build a unit of the one or more of the maze portions available for selection, wherein the build operation increases the quantity of the one or more maze portions available for selection.
62. The method according to claim 61 further comprising designating selected virtual characters associated with the user account to be allocated to the build operation, wherein
a length of time required following the build operation before a subsequent build operation involving at least one of the selected virtual characters can be initiated depends at least in part on the number of selected virtual characters allocated to the build operation.
63. A method of creating a user-generated challenge in a virtual environment, the method comprising:
requesting registration of a plurality of virtual characters to be associated with a user account;
accessing a maze creation tool comprising a plurality of maze portions;
selecting the plurality of maze portions and arranging the plurality of maze portions selected to construct a three-dimensional maze in the virtual environment to be navigated by another virtual character in the virtual environment, wherein said another virtual character is associated with another user account created for a remotely-located user;
receiving an indication of a quantity of a plurality of the maze portions available for selection from the maze creation tool to be included in the maze;
requesting performance of a first build operation that adds at least one unit to the quantity of one or more of the maze portions available for selection;
designating one or more of the virtual characters associated with the user account as selected virtual characters that are to be allocated to the first build operation, wherein
a length of time before a subsequent build operation involving at least one of the selected virtual characters allocated to the first build operation can be initiated depends at least in part on a quantity of selected virtual characters allocated to the first build operation; and
submitting the maze for publication to allow the maze to be accessed by the remotely-located user, via a user computer, and navigated with the another virtual character.
64. The method according to claim 63, wherein at least one of the virtual characters is a virtual replica of a purchased toy.
65. The method according to claim 63 further comprising selecting a specific maze portion from among the plurality of maze portions available in the maze creation tool, wherein the first build operation adds the at least one unit to the quantity of the specific maze portion.
66. The method according to claim 63 further comprising receiving an indication of a remaining portion of the length of time before the subsequent build operation can be initiated involving the at least one of the selected virtual characters allocated to the first build operation.
67. The method according to claim 66, wherein the indication of a length of the remaining portion of the length of time comprises a countdown timer.
68. The method according to claim 63, wherein the selected virtual characters are limited to less than, or equal to a maximum number of allowable virtual characters that can be allocated to the first build operation, the maximum number being less than a total number of the virtual characters associated with the user account.
69. A method of providing a virtual presentation, the method comprising:
requesting registration of a virtual character representing a purchased toy and association of said virtual character with a user account;
transmitting an instruction requesting an interaction between the virtual character and at least one of a plurality of non-player characters associated with a virtual zone forming a portion of a virtual world, wherein the interaction between the virtual character and the at least one of the non-player characters is to occur within a three-dimensional rendering of the virtual world;
receiving a communication from the one or more of the non-player characters in response to the interaction between the virtual character and the at least one of the non-player characters; and
subsequent to said associating the virtual character, displaying a three-dimensional rendering of a virtual course that is to be navigated by the virtual character.
70. The method according to claim 69, wherein said displaying the three-dimensional rendering of the virtual course comprises displaying a third-person view of the virtual character navigating the virtual course.
71. The method according to claim 70, wherein the virtual character comprises an appearance of a hamster in a ball and the virtual course comprises a network of generally-tubular interior passages.
72. The method according to claim 69, wherein each of the plurality of different non-player characters is associated with one of a plurality of zones, and is specifically adapted to a theme of the one of the plurality of zones.
73. The method according to claim 69, wherein the communication resulting from said interaction comprises a challenge issued by the one or more of the non-player characters to the virtual character.
74. The method according to claim 73 further comprising: successfully completing the challenge issued by the one or more of the non-player characters, thereby improving a relationship parameter associated with the virtual character indicative of a relative closeness of a relationship between the virtual character and the one or more of the non-player characters.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
What we claim is:
1. An optical structure comprising a plurality of layers with at least two layers having composition variation within each layer, the at least two layers comprising a first layer and a second layer and the plurality of layers comprising a first turning element being at least partially located within the first layer and the second layer wherein the first turning element reflects light between a confined optical pathway within the plane of the first layer and a confined optical pathway within the plane of the second layer.
2. The optical structure of claim 1 wherein at least one of the plurality of layers comprises silicon oxide glass.
3. The optical structure of claim 2 wherein the silicon oxide glass comprises at least one dopant.
4. The optical structure of claim 1 wherein at least one of the plurality of layers comprises aluminum oxide, titanium oxide, telluride glasses, phosphate (P2O5) glass, InP, lithium niobate, combinations thereof and doped compositions thereof.
5. The optical structure of claim 1 wherein the first layer comprises a plurality of optical devices integrated within the first layer.
6. The optical structure of claim 5 wherein the second layer comprising a plurality of optical devices integrated within the second layer.
7. The optical structure of claim 5 wherein at least one of the integrated optical devices of the first layer is selected from the group consisting of optical waveguideconduit, optical attenuator, optical splittercoupler, optical filter, optical switch, laser, modulator, interconnect, optical isolator, optical add-drop multiplexer (OADM), optical amplifier, optical polarizer, optical circulator, phase shifter, optical mirrorreflector, optical phase-retarder, optical detector, an electrode contact, an optical grating and combinations thereof.
8. The optical structure of claim 5 wherein the plurality of layers further comprises a thermal conductive layer, a stress reducing layer, an electrical conducting guide or a combination thereof.
9. The optical structure of claim 1 wherein the at least two layers form an integrated optical circuit comprising a plurality of optical devices located on different layers comprising the first layer and the second layer, the first turning element forming a light pathway from the first layer to the second layer and the optical devices being functionally integrated between the different layers by the first turning element.
10. The optical structure of claim 9 wherein the at least two layers comprises a third layer, the at least three layers comprising a second turning element, the second turning element deflecting light from within the second layer to the third layer to functionally integrate optical devices within the second layer and the third layer.
11. The optical structure of claim 9 wherein the first turning element optically connects a first planar waveguide in the first plane with a second planar waveguide in a second plane.
12. The optical structure of claim 1 wherein the first turning element comprises an angled mirror.
13. The optical structure of claim 12 wherein the angled mirror is formed by an angled surface of a waveguide forming an interface with a lower index-of-refraction material.
14. The optical structure of claim 13 wherein the lower index-of-refraction material comprises a fluid.
15. The optical structure of claim 12 wherein the lower index-of-refraction material comprises a glass.
16. The optical structure of claim 12 wherein the lower index-of-refraction material has an index-of-refraction at least about a factor of 1.3 lower than the index-of-refraction of the waveguide material.
17. The optical structure of claim 12 wherein the lower index-of-refraction material comprises an electro-optical material that has an index-of-refraction that is controlled by one or more electrodes that correspondingly turn the mirror on and off.
18. The optical structure of claim 12 wherein the lower index-of-refraction material comprises a thermo-optical material, the structure further comprising a thermal transmission region adjacent the thermo-optical material.
19. The optical structure of claim 12 wherein the angled mirror comprises an angled surface of a waveguide having an interface with a metal.
20. The optical structure of claim 12 wherein the angled mirror comprises alternating layers of material with different indices-of-refraction.
21. The optical structure of claim 12 wherein the first turning element further comprises a second angled mirror along an optical pathway formed from the first angled mirror wherein the second angled mirror optically connects an optical pathway in a second layer with the first angled mirror.
22. The optical structure of claim 1 wherein the first turning element comprises an optical taper forming an optical pathway of a higher index-of-refraction materials surrounded by a cladding material with a lower index-of-refraction wherein the optical pathway involves a gradual turn from the first layer out of the plane of the first layer.
23. An optical structure comprising a plurality of layers with at least two layers having composition variation within each layer, the at least two layers comprising a first layer and a second layer and the plurality of layers comprising a turning element being at least partially located within the first layer wherein the turning element comprises an optical taper forming an optical pathway of a higher index-of-refraction materials surrounded by a cladding material with a lower index-of-refraction wherein the optical pathway involves a gradual turn from the first layer out of the plane of the first layer.
24. The optical structure of claim 23 wherein the taper is optically connected to a first planar waveguide in the first layer and a second planar waveguide in the second layer.
25. The optical structure of claim 24 wherein the optical taper, the first planar waveguide and the second planar waveguide have approximately the same index-of-refraction.
26. A method for forming a patterned coating on a surface, the method comprising:
a) reacting a reactant flow to form product particles in a product stream; and
b) directing the product particle stream through a first discrete mask at a surface to form the patterned coating on the surface, the first discrete mask not being bonded to the surface.
27. The method of claim 26 wherein the reactant flow intersects a radiation beam to form a reaction zone at which the product particle stream is formed.
28. The method of claim 27 wherein the radiation beam is generated by an infrared laser.
29. The method of claim 26 wherein the reactant stream is formed by an inlet nozzle that is elongated in one dimension relative to the orthogonal dimension.
30. The method of claim 29 wherein the inlet nozzle has an aspect ratio of the elongated dimension to the orthogonal dimension of at least about 5.
31. The method of claim 29 wherein the inlet nozzle has an elongated dimension longer than a width across the surface resulting in the formation of a coating across the entire surface with one linear pass of the surface through the product particle stream.
32. The method of claim 26 wherein the reactant stream comprises vaporgas precursors of the product particles.
33. The method of claim 26 wherein the reactant stream comprises aerosol precursors of the product particles.
34. The method of claim 33 wherein the reactant stream further comprises vaporgas precursors of the product particles.
35. The method of claim 26 wherein the reactant stream comprises a silicon precursor.
36. The method of claim 35 wherein the reactant stream further comprises a silicon oxide glass dopant precursor.
37. The method of claim 26 wherein the patterned coating consolidates into optical material.
38. The method of claim 37 wherein the optical material comprises a glass.
39. The method of claim 37 wherein the optical material comprises a crystalline material.
40. The method of claim 39 wherein the crystalline material comprises a polycrystalline material.
41. The method of claim 39 wherein the crystalline material comprises a single crystalline material.
42. The method of claim 37 further comprising consolidating the patterned coating to form an optical material.
43. The method of claim 26 wherein the first discrete mask comprises a sheet with a plurality of cut-outs through which the product particle stream pass to form the patterned coating.
44. The method of claim 26 further comprising removing the first discrete mask to leave the patterned coating separate from the mask.
45. The method of claim 44 further comprising:
a) placing a second discrete mask adjacent the surface;
b) reacting a reactant flow to form product particles in a product stream wherein the product particles, when the second discrete mask is located adjacent the surface, are different from the product particles when the first discrete mask is located adjacent the surface; and
c) directing the product particle stream through the second discrete mask at a surface to form an additional patterned coating on the surface, the second discrete mask not being bonded to the surface.
46. The method of claim 45 wherein the second discrete mask forms a pattern complementary to at least a portion of the patterned coating formed by the first discrete mask.
47. The method of claim 44 wherein the first discrete mask comprises at least two sets of openings corresponding to patterned coatings each having sufficient size to cover the substrate and wherein the directing of the product particles through the first discrete mask comprises directing the particles through a first of the at least two sets of openings, the method further comprising translating the first discrete mask to align a second of the at least two sets of openings over the substrate and depositing product particles with a different composition from the composition of the product particles directed through the first of the at least two sets of openings.
48. The method of claim 27 wherein the first discrete mask comprises two separable masks placed adjacent each other to form the first discrete mask for directing the particle stream.
49. A method for forming coating(s) comprising a first coating on a surface with varying composition in the first coating at different locations along the surface, the method comprising:
a) reacting a reactant flow to form a product particle stream; and
b) directing the product particle stream at a surface to form each of the coating(s), wherein the first coating is formed over at least about 5 square centimeters of the surface and forms a pattern of different compositions at different locations and is formed in less than about 5 minutes.
50. The method of claim 49 wherein the product particles are directed through a mask.
51. The method of claim 49 wherein the product particle stream and the surface are moved relative to each other and wherein composition of the product particle stream is changed over time resulting in deposition of different compositions at different locations along the surface.
52. The method of claim 49 wherein the product particle stream is produced by a plurality of nozzles with different reaction precursors flowing to the nozzles, wherein the nozzles are oriented to deposit different compositions at different locations on the surface.
53. The method of claim 49 wherein the first coating is deposited in less than about 1 minute.
54. The method of claim 49 wherein the first coating is deposited in less than about 15 seconds.
55. The method of claim 49 wherein the first coating has a thickness of at least about 100 nanometers.
56. The method of claim 49 wherein the coating(s) comprise a second coating and wherein the second coating is formed over at least about 5 square centimeters of the surface and forms a pattern of different compositions at different locations and is formed in less than about 5 minutes.
57. The method of claim 49 wherein the product particle stream is altered while directing the product particle stream at the surface.
58. The method of claim 56 wherein the coating process forms a material with a gradual composition transition from a first composition to a second composition.
59. A method for forming at least one coating on a surface with varying composition areas at different locations along the surface, the method comprising:
a) reacting a reactant flow to form a product particle stream; and
b) directing the product particle stream at a surface wherein the product particle stream sequentially coats portions of the surface and wherein the product particle stream is altered during the coating process to deposit different product particle compositions at different locations along the surface.
60. The method of claim 59 wherein the reactant flow intersects a radiation beam to form a reaction zone at which the product particle stream is formed.
61. The method of claim 59 wherein the reactant stream is formed by an inlet nozzle that is elongated in one dimension relative to the orthogonal dimension, the inlet nozzle having an elongated dimension longer than a width across the surface resulting in the formation of a coating across the entire surface with one linear pass of the surface through the product particle stream.
62. The method of claim 59 wherein the reactant stream comprises a silicon precursor.
63. The method of claim 59 wherein the reactant stream comprises vaporgas precursors of the product particles.
64. The method of claim 63 wherein the composition of the reactant stream is varied by adjusting the flow through mass flow controllers.
65. The method of claim 59 wherein the reactant stream comprises aerosol precursors of the product particles.
66. The method of claim 65 wherein the composition of the reactant stream is varied by adjusting the flow to an aerosol generator that produces at least a portion of the aerosol precursors of the reactant stream.
67. The method of claim 59 wherein the coating consolidates into optical material.
68. The method of claim 59 wherein the composition variation results from adjusting dopant levels relative to an approximately fixed host material composition.
69. The method of claim 59 wherein the composition variation comprises approximately step-wise changes.
70. The method of claim 59 wherein the composition variation involves gradual composition changes.
71. The method of claim 59 wherein the surface and the reactant flowproduct particle stream are moved relative to each other to coat the surface.
72. The method of claim 59 wherein a discrete mask is used to selectively direct the particle stream to portions of the surface to coat the surface.
73. The method of claim 73 wherein the discrete mask is moved relative to the surface.
74. The method of claim 59 wherein the directing of a product particle stream at a surface comprises depositing a plurality of product particle streams having different particle compositions from each other.
75. The method of claim 59 wherein the reactant stream comprises an inert gas.
76. The method of claim 59 wherein the composition of the product particles is varied by adjusting the concentration of inert gas in the reactant stream.
77. The method of claim 59 wherein the composition of the product particles is varied by adjusting the intensity of the radiation beam.
78. The method of claim 59 wherein the substrate and product particle stream are moved relative to each other in a first direction to coat a portion of the surface and in an opposite direction to coat another portion of the surface.
79. The method of claim 59 further comprising blocking the flow of the particle stream with a shutter between two deposition periods wherein particles are deposited onto the substrate surface.
80. The method of claim 59 wherein the at least one coating is formed in less than about 5 minute.
81. The method of claim 59 wherein the at least one coating is formed in less than about 1 minute.
82. The method of claim 59 wherein the at least one coating is formed in less than about 15 seconds.
83. An optical material comprising an optical transition material, wherein the optical transition material has a thickness of no more than about 300 microns and comprises a gradual composition transition from a first composition and a second composition.
84. The optical material of claim 83 wherein the optical transition material has a thickness no more than about 150 microns.
85. The optical material of claim 83 wherein the optical transition material has a thickness no more than about 50 microns.
86. The optical material of claim 83 wherein the optical transition material comprises a plurality of layers with step-wise variation in composition, each layer having a thickness less than about 100 microns.
87. The optical material of claim 83 wherein the optical transition material comprises a plurality of layers with step-wise variation in composition, each layer having a thickness less than about 25 microns.
88. The optical material of claim 87 wherein each layer within the optical transition material has a thickness less than about 20 microns.
89. The optical material of claim 87 wherein each layer within the optical transition material has a thickness less than about 10 microns.
90. The optical material of claim 86 wherein the optical transition material comprises at least 3 layers.
91. The optical material of claim 86 wherein the optical transition material has from 4 layers to 12 layers.
92. The optical material of claim 86 wherein the layers of the optical transition material have approximately equal thickness.
93. The optical material of claim 83 wherein the gradual composition transition is an approximately continuous composition transition.
94. The optical material of claim 83 wherein the optical transition material comprises silicon oxide glass with varying dopant levels.
95. The optical material of claim 83 wherein the first composition comprises an optionally doped silicon oxide and the second composition comprises doped silicon oxide with a different composition than the first composition.
96. The optical material of claim 95 further comprising a core material adjacent the second composition.
97. The optical material of claim 96 further comprising an over-cladding material adjacent the core material.
98. The optical material of claim 83 further comprising a silicon substrate and a layer of an optical silicon compound wherein the optical transition material is located between the silicon substrate and the optical silicon compound and wherein the first composition comprises silicon and the second composition comprises the optical silicon compound.
99. The optical material of claim 98 wherein the optical silicon compound is selected from the group consisting of (SiO2), SiC, SiN, combinations thereof and doped compounds thereof.
100. The optical material of claim 83 wherein the optical material has a surface area of at least about 1 cm2.
101. An optical structure comprising the optical material of claim 83.
102. An optical waveguide comprising a first cladding layer of optical material, a second cladding layer of optical material and a core of optical material, which is adjacent the first cladding layer and the second cladding layer and which has a higher average index-of-refraction than that of each of the cladding layers, wherein at least one of the cladding layers comprises a lower index-of-refraction region adjacent the core layer, the lower index-of-refraction layer having an average index-of-refraction lower than the average index-of-refraction of the at least one of the cladding layers.
103. The optical waveguide of claim 102 wherein the lower index-of-refraction region has an average index-of-refraction at least about 0.0005 units less than the average index-of-refraction of the at least one of the cladding layers.
104. The optical waveguide of claim 102 wherein the lower index-of-refraction region has a thickness from about 7% to about 25% of the thickness of the core material.
105. The optical waveguide of claim 102 wherein both cladding layers comprises a lower-index-of-refraction region adjacent the core layer, each such region having an average index-of-refraction lower then than the average index-of-refraction of the corresponding cladding layer.
106. A method of forming an optical structure comprising an optical transition material that comprises a gradual composition transition at a location on a substrate from a first composition and a second composition, the method comprising:
a) reacting a reactant flow to form a product particle stream; and
b) directing the product particle stream at a surface wherein the product particle stream is altered during the coating process to form a material with the gradual composition transition.
107. The method of claim 106 wherein the reactant flow intersects a radiation beam to form a reaction zone at which the product particle stream is formed.
108. The method of claim 106 wherein the product particle stream is simultaneously directed at the entire location on the substrate and the composition of a reactant stream is continuously changed to alter the composition of the deposited particles.
109. The method of claim 106 wherein the optical transition material comprises a plurality of sublayers, and wherein the composition of the product particle stream is altered between the deposition of each sublayer.
110. The method of claim 106 wherein the product particle stream sequentially coats additional portions of the surface.
111. The method of claim 106 wherein the optical transition layer comprises at least one layer and wherein the at least one layer is formed in less than about 5 minutes.
112. The method of claim 111 wherein the at least one layer is formed in less than about 1 minute.
113. The method of claim 111 wherein the at least one layer is formed in less than about 15 seconds.
114. A coating apparatus comprising:
a plurality of elongated reactant inlets defining a plurality of reactant stream paths;
optical elements forming one or more light paths intersecting the reactant stream paths at a plurality of reaction zones with a product stream path continuing from the reaction zones; and
a substrate intersecting the product stream paths with each of the product stream paths directed to separate locations on the substrate.
115. The coating apparatus of claim 114 wherein at least two of the plurality of reactant inlets are fed by reactant precursor sources to provide different reactant stream compositions.
116. The coating apparatus of claim 114 wherein at least two of the plurality of noncircular reactant inlets are adjacent each other.
117. The coating apparatus of claim 114 wherein at least two of the plurality of noncircular reactant inlets are angled in a spaced apart configuration to deposit respective product particles at adjacent locations on the substrate.
118. A method for coating the surface of a substrate, the method comprising:
a) reacting a plurality of reactant flows to form a plurality of product particle streams, wherein at least two of the plurality of product particle stream have different particle compositions from each other; and
b) simultaneously depositing the at least two of the plurality of product particle streams on a surface wherein the product particle streams are directed to different locations on the substrate surface.
119. The method of claim 118 wherein the plurality of product particle streams comprises two product particle streams that contact adjacent locations on the substrate surface.
120. The method of claim 119 wherein the two product particle stream overlap at the substrate surface.
121. The method of claim 119 wherein at least one of the product particle streams is elongated in one dimension relative to the orthogonal direction and wherein the at least one of the product particle streams is aligned with axes oriented along the elongated direction of the product particle streams being generally parallel.
122. A coating apparatus comprising:
a) a reactant inlet defining a reactant stream path;
b) optical elements forming a light path intersecting the reactant stream paths at a reaction zone with a product stream path continuing from the reaction zone;
c) a substrate intersecting the product stream path directed to a substrate; and
d) a shutter that can selectively close to block the product stream path from reaching the substrate.
123. A method for coating the surface of a substrate, the method comprising:
a) reacting a reactant flow to form a product particle stream directed toward a substrate surface;
b) blocking the product particle stream with a shutter to prevent coating of the substrate surface; and
c) opening the shutter a first period of time to deposit the product particle stream on a surface of the substrate.
124. The method of claim 123 further comprising opening the shutter a second period of time to deposit product particles onto the substrate surface wherein the substrate is moved relative to product particle stream between the first period of time and the second period of time.
125. The method of claim 123 further comprising opening the shutter a second period of time to deposit product particles onto the substrate surface wherein the product particle stream is changed between the first period of time and the second period of time.
126. An optical device comprising a first cladding layer of optical material, a second cladding layer of optical material and a core of optical material, which is adjacent the first cladding layer and the second cladding layer and which has a higher index-of-refraction than the cladding layers, wherein one of the cladding layers has a localized band of tap material having an index-of-refraction intermediate between the core layer and the average index-of-refraction of the cladding layer with the localized band intersecting the core material, the tap material providing for the leakage of some light intensity into the tap material when light is transmitted through the core.
127. The optical device of claim 126 wherein the core forms a couplersplitter with one optical path being optically coupled to a plurality of optical paths.
128. The optical device of claim 127 wherein the tap material intersects the plurality of optical paths.
129. The optical device of claim 126 wherein the tap material is optically integrated with an optical detector.
130. An integrated optical circuit comprising a vertical cavity surface emitting laser, a planar waveguide and a turning element optically connecting the planar waveguide and the vertical cavity surface emitting laser with emissions being directed approximately perpendicular to the plane of the waveguide.
131. The integrated optical circuit of claim 130 wherein the turning element is a mirror.
132. The integrated optical circuit of claim 130 wherein the turning element is a taper.
133. The integrated optical circuit of claim 130 wherein the turning element is a photonic crystal.
134. A planar optical amplifier comprising an under-cladding layer; a mid-cladding layer; an over-cladding layer; a signal core adjacent to the under-cladding layer and the mid-cladding layer; and a pump-guide core adjacent to the mid-cladding layer and the over-cladding layer; the signal core having a higher average index-of-refraction than the under-cladding layer and the mid-cladding layer and comprising a gain region that comprises a composition that absorbs light in a selected region of the electromagnetic spectrum; the pump-guide core having a higher average index-of-refraction than the mid-cladding layer and the over-cladding layer; and the mid-cladding layer having a transmission region overlapping the gain region wherein the transmission region has an index-of-refraction higher than the average index-of-refraction of the mid-cladding layer.
135. The planar optical amplifier of claim 134 wherein the pump-guide core comprises a transfer region adjacent the gain region in a direction perpendicular to a plane orienting the structure in which the transfer region has an index-of-refraction less than the average index-of-refraction of the pump-guide core.
136. A continuously variable optical attenuator comprising a first cladding layer; a second cladding layer that is thermally conductive; a third cladding layer; a pump-core adjacent to the second cladding layer and the third cladding layer, the pump core having an index-of-refraction higher than the second cladding layer and the third cladding layer and the pump-core comprising an absorption region that absorbs a selected region of the electromagnetic spectrum, and an active-core between the first cladding layer and the second cladding layer, the active core comprising a thermally sensitive region adjacent at least a portion of the absorption region, the thermally sensitive region comprising a material having an index-of-refraction that varies with temperature.
137. A continuously variable optical switch comprising an interferometer having two coupled waveguides that join at a directional coupler, one of the coupled waveguides comprising a continuously variable optical attenuator of claim 118.
138. A monolithic planar optical circuit comprising a first planar optical waveguide, a second optical waveguide and a mirror optically connecting the first planar waveguide and the second planar waveguide, wherein the mirror comprises an elemental metal forming a mirror surface positioned to reflect light between the first planar waveguide and the second planar waveguide.
139. The monolithic planar optical circuit of claim 138 wherein the first planar optical waveguide and the second optical planar waveguide are within the same layer of the monolithic planar optical circuit.
140. The monolithic planar optical circuit of claim 138 wherein the first planar optical waveguide and the second optical planar waveguide are in different layers of the monolithic planar optical circuit.
141. The monolithic planar optical circuit of claim 138 wherein the mirror is partly reflecting.
142. A planar optical circuit comprising a monolithic optical structure having a first optical device and a second optical device, the first optical device and second optical device being optically connected by a free space optical element embedded within the monolithic optical structure.
143. The planar optical circuit of claim 142 wherein the free space optical element is located in a trench within the monolithic structure between the first optical device and the second optical device.
144. The planar optical circuit of claim 143 wherein the trench is filled with a liquid.
145. The planar optical circuit of claim 143 wherein the trench is filled with a polymer.
146. A method for forming a coated substrate with the coating comprising a doped material, the method comprising:
forming a powder coating within a reaction chamber in which the powder is deposited from a stream of product particles formed within the reactor; and
heat treating the powder coating by flowing a fuel and oxygen source within the reactor wherein the reactant stream does not produce particles.
147. A coated substrate comprising a powder coating on the substrate, the powder having a larger average particle size along a cross section a first distance from the substrate relative to the average particle size along a cross section a second distance from the substrate, the second distant being larger than the first distance.