Method and apparatus for low loss via geometrical optimization in free-space micro-machined optical switches
US6317532A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 29, 1999 |
| Grant date | Nov 13, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 29, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02B6/3546
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A method and apparatus for minimizing optical loss associated with light beam divergence in a free-space micro-machined optical switch is presented. The coupling efficiency of a free-space micro-machined optical switch, that is, how efficiently the switch transfers an optical light beam from an emitting optical fiber to a receiving optical fiber, is obtained by calculating the overlap integral of the wave functions of an optical beam taken in a free-space mode at an entry point in the switch and in a fiber mode at a receiving fiber facet of the optical switch. Since the optical light beam diverges as it propagates through the optical switch, and the propagation distance increases with mirror size, that coupling efficiency is limited by the ratio of the optical light beam radius and the mirror radius of the switch. Thus, through careful measurements it becomes clear that an optimal value, for a given switch, of the ratio of the size of the beam in relation to the size of the mirror of the optical switch can be determined to optimize coupling efficiency and minimize data loss.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.