Low dispersion interleaver
US6683721B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 28, 2002 |
| Grant date | Jan 27, 2004 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 20, 2022 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02B6/2773
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
The present invention relates to an interferometer useful in the interleaving and de-interleaving of optical wavelength channels. Typically the invention comprises a beamsplitter and two resonators, e.g. GT etalons or ring resonators. The beamsplitter splits an input beam of light into a first sub-beam directed to follow a first path and a second sub-beam directed to follow a second path. The first resonator has a first effective cavity length and receives the first sub-beam. The second resonator has a second effective cavity length and receives the second sub-beam. The first path and the second path have an effective optical path difference approximately equal to one-half the first effective cavity length. In one embodiment, the front plates of the GT etalons each have a different reflectivity, and are selected to provide a desired spectral response. In another embodiment, the two resonators are slightly de-phased from one another such that the positive dispersion slope of the first resonator is aligned with the negative dispersion slope of the second resonator. Polarization-based versions of the invention are disclosed, in which a single resonator receives both sub-beams, which a…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.