Patent · US Expired

Tunable long-period optical grating device and optical systems employing same

US5999671A · kind A · utility

73Cited by
5References
22Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateOct 27, 1997
Grant dateDec 7, 1999
Priority date
Expiry dateOct 27, 2017

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG02B6/02095
  • WIPO fieldOptics
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

A device and method for dynamically tuning a long-period grating of an optical fiber is disclosed. The grating is made tunable by using a controlled strain imposed on the fiber adjacent the grating, wherein the strain comprises an electromechanical force, magnetostrictive force, magnetic force, or a thermally-induced force. An improved optical communication system comprising a dynamically gain-equalized amplifier device, a wavelength feedback device, and the tunable long-period grating device is also disclosed. In the communications system, the grating device is reconfigured to have a desired broadband filtering frequency, thus equalizing the amplifier gain, in response to feedback from the wavelength detector.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.