Patent · US Expired

Optical interleavers/deinterleavers

US6697198B2 · kind B2 · utility

6Cited by
6References
22Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateOct 23, 2001
Grant dateFeb 24, 2004
Priority date
Expiry dateOct 23, 2021

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG02B6/272
  • WIPO fieldOptics
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

Interleaver/deinterleaver apparatuses for combining/separating optical channels are described. When operating as a deinterleaver, the interleaver/deinterleaver separates an optical signal (e.g. WDM signal) into subsets of optical signals (e.g. channels). In one embodiment, deinterleaving optical signals separates an optical signal into even and odd International Telecommunications Union (ITU) channels. The interleaver/deinterleavers may include isolator components to route optical signals to and from input/output ports. A variety of reflective elements, e.g. quarter wave mirrors, reflective prisms, etalons, can be used for double passing the signals through a birefringent crystal assembly.

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