Systems and methods for manipulating light with tunable ferroelectric
photonic devices. Devices having tunable properties that exhibit photonic
bandgap behavior are fabricated from ferroelectric materials. Apparatus
is provided to apply tuning signals to the ferroelectric material using
one or more of electric fields, mechanical forces, optical fields, and
thermal fields. Control circuitry is provided to generate the control
signals needed to apply the tuning signals. Input and output ports are
provided to allow input signals to be received and to provide output
signals. In some cases, a feedback loop is provided to use a portion of
the output signal as a diagnostic signal for control of the operation of
the device within an acceptable range. It is expected that ferroelectric
photonic devices operating according to principles of the invention will
be useful for a wide variety of applications, including optical
switching, optical modulation, optical computing, and performing logic
optically.