Side emitting optical fiber
US5905837A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 22, 1997 |
| Grant date | May 18, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 22, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02B6/4298
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An optical fiber that controllably taps and distributes light propagating through an the optical fiber that comprises an optical fiber having multiple regions each having a different index of refraction from one another such that when light traverses the optical fiber along a length it travels from a region of one index of refraction to another region having a different index of refraction the light is sufficiently deflected such that it is distributed out a side of the optical fiber along its length. In a preferred embodiment, at point in the length of the fiber where a change in index of refraction occurs, light traversing the fiber is efficiently diverted out of the optical fiber through the side of the fiber. The light so diverted alternatively is refracted by one or more refractive regions, and alternatively focused by prism films applied to the exit side of the fiber where it may then be put to an advantageous use.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.