Rhomb interleaver
US6690513B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 27, 2002 |
| Grant date | Feb 10, 2004 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 31, 2022 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04Q2011/0075
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Interleavers are a useful tool in wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) to separate a signal with closely spaced channels into two signals, e.g. odd and even ITU channels, each with twice the channel spacing. Alternatively, two signals with a large channel spacing can be combined into a single beam with half the channel spacing. The invention relates to an optical interferometer using rhomb prisms as resonant cavities, which, when properly designed, provide the necessary phase shifts for interleaving or de-interleaving sets of optical wavelength channels. The present invention utilizes the differential phase shift between orthogonally polarized components induced by total internal reflection (TIR) off the surfaces of the rhomb prisms. Dispersion reducing techniques are also disclosed, including multiple rhomb interleavers and multi-pass rhomb interleavers.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.