Apparatus and method for making a joint-free Mach-Zehnder interferometer
US6516635B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 26, 2000 |
| Grant date | Feb 11, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 24, 2021 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02B6/2835
- WIPO fieldOther special machines
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
Method and system for constructing and testing integrity of a combination of first and second spaced apart optical fiber couplers that each receive and hold two fibers. A segment of each fiber in a separation region between the couplers is heated, twisted and elongated by selected amounts to form a fiber complex, located between the first and second couplers. The fibers in the second coupler are subjected to further controlled elongation. A spectrum analyzer receives a common light beam passed through each of the two fibers and fiber couplers and measures successive maximum and minimum values of an interferometric variable IF and pit-to-pit or peak-to-peak spacing of the IF values as fiber segment elongation is varied. If (1) successive maximum values lie within an envelope of selected (small) width, (2) differences between successive maximum and minimum values are at least equal to a selected threshold value, and (3) pit-to-pit or peak-to-peak spacing is close to a selected spacing standard, the combination is accepted as part of a Mach-Zehnder-type interferometer.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.