System and method for measuring the transfer function of a guided wave device

US6376830B1 · kind B1 · utility

Assignee

• The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration · US

Inventors

• Mark E. Froggatt · Blacksburg, US
• Turan Erdogan · Kingston, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Jun 15, 2000
• Grant date: Apr 23, 2002
• Expiry date: Jun 15, 2020

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G01M11/3181
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

A method/system are provided for measuring the N×N scalar transfer function elements for an N-port guided wave device. Optical energy of a selected wavelength is generated at a source and directed along N reference optical paths having N reference path lengths. Each reference optical path terminates in one of N detectors such that N reference signals are produced at the N detectors. The reference signals are indicative of amplitude, phase and frequency of the optical energy carried along the N reference optical paths. The optical energy from the source is also directed to the N-ports of the guided wave device and then on to each of the N detectors such that N measurement optical paths are defined between the source and each of the N detectors. A portion of the optical energy is modified in terms of at least one of the amplitude and phase to produce N modified signals at each of the N detectors. At each of the N detectors, each of the N modified signals is combined with a corresponding one of the N reference signals to produce corresponding N combined signals at each of the N detectors. A total of N2 measurement signals are generated by the N detectors. Each of the N2 measurem…