Deinterleaver with high isolation and dispersion compensation and 50/200GHz interleaver and deinterleaver
Granted: November 4, 2003
Patent Number:
6643063
A deinterleaver includes three polarization interferometers and a dispersion compensator, the input light beam containing all channels passing through the dispersion compensator and the first polarization interferometer, the light beam being separated by a polarization beam splitter into an even channel beam and an odd channel beam with the even channel beam passing through a second polarization interferometer and the odd channel beam passing through a third polarization interferometer.…
Tunable optical fiber grating package with low temperature dependency
Granted: October 21, 2003
Patent Number:
6636667
A tunable optical fiber grating package with a supporting assembly and an optical fiber portion having at least one grating between a first end and a second end of the fiber portion is provided. The first end and the second end of the fiber portion define a longitudinal direction and the at least one grating has an optical characteristic that varies with strain of the fiber portion. The supporting assembly has a first supporting member formed of a material having ultra low CTE, a second…
Cascaded filter employing an AOTF and narrowband birefringent filters
Granted: September 23, 2003
Patent Number:
6624889
An optical channel monitor (OCM) or filter for analyzing an incident light carrying a number of narrow band signal channels such as WDM or DWDM channels. The OCM or filter use an acousto-optic tunable filter to receive and refract from an incident light a refracted light such that the refracted light contains a test channel with a center frequency &ngr;0. A first birefringent element is provided for filtering from the refracted light a first polarized light and a second polarized light…
50/100 and 50/200 GHz de-interleaver with high isolation and dispersion compensation
Granted: September 23, 2003
Patent Number:
6624939
An optical de-interleaver for de-interleaving light beams of odd and even channel signals having channel spacing S into light beams of odd channel signals having channel spacing 2S and light beams of even channel signals having channel spacing 2S is provided which has only one polarization interferometer and one optical dispersion compersator. A 50/100 GHz de-interleaver and a 50/200 GHz de-interleaver with high isolation and dispersion compensation are provided by applying this unique…
Method of fabricating multiple superimposed fiber Bragg gratings
Granted: September 16, 2003
Patent Number:
6621960
A method of fabricating multiple superimposed Bragg gratings in the core of a portion of a photosensitive fiber is provided where only one common phase-mask is used. The multiple superimposed Bragg gratings are inscribed in the portion of the photosensitive fiber by applying different predetermined longitudinal stresses to the portion for each corresponding writing. The different predetermined longitudinal stresses are applied to the portion of the photosensitive fiber by stretching the…
Precision dispensing apparatus and method for manufacturing thin-film optical assembly
Granted: August 19, 2003
Patent Number:
6608724
This invention discloses a machine for automatically attaching an optical filter to a lens. The machine includes lens table for supporting the lens. The machine further includes an attachment-medium dispenser system for dispensing a plurality of gapped-dots of an attachment-medium on a top surface of the lens along a peripheral line substantially according to a bottom-surface shape of the filter. The machine further includes a surface-mounting system for mounting the optical filter onto…
Tuning and temperature compensation of the air-gap etalon for dense wavelength-division multiplexing application
Granted: August 12, 2003
Patent Number:
6606182
An etalon includes a tuning plate in the air-gap between the etalon mirrors. The method of tuning includes selecting a tuning plate that makes the optical length of the etalon slightly less than required for ITU and then rotating the tuning plate through a small angle until tuning is complete. The tuning plate material is selected to provide dispersion compensation and to compensate for thermal expansion of the mirror spacers.
Miniature optical dispersion compensator with low insertion loss
Granted: June 24, 2003
Patent Number:
6584249
The present invention provides an optical dispersion compensator with relatively small size and low insertion loss comprising a Fabry-Perot etalon and a dual-fiber collimator having a dual-fiber pigtail and a GRIN lens. The dual-fiber pigtail has an input fiber and an output fiber. An optical signal is coupled into the input fiber and then collimated by the GRIN lens into a collimated incident beam that is incident on the Fabry-Perot etalon with an incident angle. The collimated incident…
Optical isolators with ultra-low polarization mode dispersion
Granted: April 22, 2003
Patent Number:
6553156
This invention presents a novel tunable module that can be incorporated in various optical devices, to provide a tunability and selectivity in a characteristic of an optical signal by effectively modifying its optical path lengths. The present invention also provides an optical isolator that incorporates such a tunable module, so that polarization mode dispersion is minimized to an arbitrarily low level. The present invention further describes methods for incorporating the tunable module…
Polarization splitter and combiner and optical devices using the same
Granted: December 10, 2002
Patent Number:
6493140
A polarization splitter and combiner for processing a beam containing a first polarization and a second polarization to spatially separate these polarizations by using a birefringent element for receiving the beam and walking off the first polarization from the second polarization by an initial walk-off distance. A first lensing element with an optical axis is oriented to admit the first polarization at a first input point and output the first polarization at a first output angle to the…
Optical interleaver
Granted: December 3, 2002
Patent Number:
6490377
This invention provides a novel wavelength filter module that reduces the number of components required in an optical interleaver, and can be configured in various ways suitable for practical applications. An optical interleaver of the present invention incorporating such a wavelength filter module is simpler and more compact in design, lower in insertion losses, polarization dependent loss (PDL) and cost, while more reliable in performance. The optical interleaver of the present…
Optical collimator with long working distance
Granted: October 22, 2002
Patent Number:
6469835
This invention discloses an optical collimator lens for collimating an incident light. The collimator lens includes an optical transmission rod substantially formed as an elongated cylinder. The optical transmission rod further includes a first end surface formed as a spherical or aspherical end surface and a second end surface opposite the first end-surface. The second end surface formed as an inclined planar surface having an incline angle &thgr; relative to the optical axis of the…
Optical interleavers with minimized dispersion
Granted: August 27, 2002
Patent Number:
6441960
The present invention provides a line of optical interleavers in which a novel beam-swapping element is utilized. The beam-swapping element of the present invention provides an effective and inexpensive alternative to polarization rotators and birefrigent elements employed in the prior art optical interleavers, hence rendering a simple and low-cost assembly to the optical interleavers of the present invention. The optical interleavers of the present invention further advantageously…
Folded optical interleaver with optional routing capability
Granted: August 27, 2002
Patent Number:
6441961
An optical interleaver apparatus and method are disclosed. The apparatus comprises a first birefringent element, a first waveplate, a second birefringent element, a polarization rotation device and a retro-reflector. The first birefringent element separates an input optical signal into first and second beams having complementary polarizations. The first waveplate rotates a polarization of light in a first wavelength range, but not a second wavelength range. The second birefringent…
Cost-effective high precision wavelength locker
Granted: June 25, 2002
Patent Number:
6411634
A system and method for providing a wavelength locker is disclosed. In one aspect, the method and system include providing a reflector, a first filter, and a second filter. The reflector is for receiving an optical signal, transmitting a first portion of the optical signal, and reflecting a second portion of the optical signal. The first filter is for receiving the first portion and transmitting a third portion of the optical signal. The first filter includes a first axis and is capable…
Angled-axis fiber-optic couplers
Granted: June 11, 2002
Patent Number:
6404954
This invention provides a novel class of fiber-optic couplers that enable fiber-optic elements in an angled-axis alignment to be coupled in a secure and reliable manner. The fiber-optic couplers of the present invention further permit a variable gap between two successive optical elements that are coupled. This has an important practical application, for it allows GRIN lenses with a pitch less than a quarter-pitch to be employed. By cascading and/or telescoping a plurality of these…
Method and configuration for providing seamless angular adjustment and attachment to make stable dual fiber optical components
Granted: June 4, 2002
Patent Number:
6400867
This invention discloses a dual fiber optical component that includes a first holding tube for containing and holding a dual fiber capillary and a collimator lens. The dual fiber capillary has first optical fiber and a second optical fiber with the first optical fiber transmits an input light beam for projecting through the collimator lens as a collimated beam. The dual fiber component further includes a second holding tube containing and holding an optical filter for receiving the…
Method and system for splitting or combining optical signal
Granted: March 5, 2002
Patent Number:
6353691
A method and system for providing a splitter/combiner is disclosed. The splitter/combiner includes a first birefringent wedge having a first optic axis and a first wedge angle and a second birefringent wedge having a second optic axis and a second wedge angle. The second birefringent wedge is optically coupled with the first birefringent wedge. The second wedge angle is complementary to the first wedge angle. The second optic axis is perpendicular to the first optic axis such that an…
Multiple-channel optical filter
Granted: August 7, 2001
Patent Number:
6272264
A method and system for providing an optical filter is disclosed. The method and system include providing a first fiber for carrying a first optical signal and a second fiber for carrying a second optical signal. The first fiber has an end. The method and system also include providing a filter and a lens disposed between the filter and the end of the first fiber. The filter has a surface and is for filtering the first optical signal to provide the second optical signal. The lens has an…
Mechanical optical switching device
Granted: April 10, 2001
Patent Number:
6215919
A mechanical optical switch with a first port for holding a first optical fiber and a second port for holding a second optical fiber and a lensing element positioned in front of the first and second ports. The switch has a signal port holding a signal or input fiber which emits a light beam to be switched between the first and second fibers. The light beam propagates along a free beam path to the first lensing element and is in-coupled into the first optical fiber. The switch is equipped…
