Patent · US Expired

Apparatus and method of making a blockless optical multiplexing device

US6418250B1 · kind B1 · utility

35Cited by
9References
29Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateAug 2, 2000
Grant dateJul 9, 2002
Priority date
Expiry dateAug 26, 2020

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG02B6/4226
  • WIPO fieldOptics
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

A blockless optical multiplexing device and a method of making a blockless optical multiplexing device. The blockless optical multiplexing device comprises at least one unit, where that at least one unit is hermetically sealed in a housing. The unit further comprises a substrate that is placed into a base portion of the housing, a plurality of optical filters that are precisely secured onto the substrate, with one half of the optical filters being separated by an air gap from a second half of the optical filters, an input collimator that is mounted onto the substrate, and a plurality of output collimators that are mounted onto the substrate, with a respective one of the output collimators being aligned and associated with a respective one of the optical filters. In a preferred embodiment, the number of optical channels in the optical multiplexing device is equal to the number of the plurality of optical filters secured onto the substrate. Also, in a preferred embodiment, the optical filters are aligned such that a collimated beam of wavelength light is transmitted through a geometric center of each of the optical filters in a cascading path through the air gap of the unit.

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