Non-reciprocal optical waveguide coupling device
US5588078A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 9, 1995 |
| Grant date | Dec 24, 1996 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 9, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S372/703
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A non-reciprocal optical device for interconnecting single mode optical fiber waveguides so that a light beam can pass between the fibers in a forward direction but a reverse beam, such as might be caused by unwanted reflections, is displaced away the input fiber, includes a focussing lens unit and at least one non-reciprocal optical element in series between respective ends of an input optical fiber and an output optical fiber. The focussing lens unit has a focal length such that a light beam from the input optical fiber will be focussed onto the end of the output optical fiber. The focussing lens unit may comprise, for example, a half-pitch grin-rod lens. The non-reciprocal device is positioned adjacent one or other of the foci of the focussing lens unit. The focussing lens unit may comprise several lens elements, for example a pair of quarter pitch collimating lenses, allowing additional optical elements, such as filters, to be interposed. An isolator/wavelength division multiplexing hybrid device is formed by interposing a wavelength-division multiplexing filter and arranging the geometry so that different wavelength light beams are coupled to different output fibers. High isol…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.