Optical divider for multimode optical fiber systems

US5091986A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company, Inc. · JP

Inventors

• Mitsuzo Arii · Tokyo, JP
• Norio Takeda · Tokyo, JP
• Shigeo Kataoka · Tokyo, JP
• Osamu Kondoh · Tokyo, JP
• Kuniaki Jinnai · Nagoya, JP
• Hisashi Ohwada · Tokyo, JP
• Tomoko Kondoh · Tokyo, JP

Key dates

• Filing date: Nov 8, 1990
• Grant date: Feb 25, 1992
• Expiry date: Nov 8, 2010

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G02B6/2808
• WIPO field: Optics
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

An optical divider for multimode optical fibers of graded-index (GI) type composed of an optical input section for securing input optical fiber, a branching section including an optical waveguide having rectangular sectional shapes irrespective of a kind of material or a method of fabricating the same and consists of a main optical waveguide and branch waveguide, and an optical output section for securing an array of output optical fibers, wherein the main optical waveguide having a width D and a length M is divided contiguously into N branch optical waveguides, preferably three or more having uniform width W, the optical waveguide having substantially uniform core thickness T is specifically related with the core diameter K of the otpical fiber to fufull the following relational formulas: EQU 0.7.ltoreq.T/K.ltoreq.0.85 (1) EQU 0.35.ltoreq.W/K.ltoreq.0.80 (2) EQU 15.ltoreq.M/D.ltoreq.70 (3) EQU D=N.times.W (4) for reducing a coupling loss between the optical fibers and the optical waveguide and improved a loss variance by selecting the value of M/D to the value within the range as specified above or more preferably within a range of 20.ltoreq.M/D.ltoreq.60.