At&t Bell Laboratories

At+t Corp.

Jose M Sasian-Alvarado

Stephen Joseph Hinterlong

Robert Allen Novotny

A fiber optical array with precision fiber and positioning and a process for manufacturing such an array. The position of the ends of the optical fibers depends upon placement within a target that has been lithographed using highly precise lithography similar to that used in VLSI integrated circuits. The placement of an end with its core within its target is performed with the aid of microscopes and micro-manipulators. Once an end is in the proper location, ultraviolet curable adhesive is used to permanently fix its position precisely. Arrays having positional precision to within 1 micrometer are achievable by this invention.

Optical fiber array and process of manufacture

An objective lens for a free-space photonic switching system is disclosed. The objective lens is utilized to change a collimated array of beams into an array of spots which will focus on the array of spatial light modulating elements (S-SEEDs, for example). The requirements for the lens (low f-number, field of view, etc.), result in a lens which includes an external stop, positive doublet, a positive (e.g., plano-convex) lens and a negative (e.g., field flattener) lens, the latter pair of lenses being separated by a predetermined distance d.

Objective lens for a free-space photonic switching system

A optical lens is disclosed which is capable of correcting for imaging system characteristics such as field curvature and spherical aberration. The corrective lens comprises a single optic device and imparts no additional power into the optical system. In particular, the corrective lens comprises a plano-based device (either plano-concave or plano-convex) including a series of stepped zones where the steps are formed to be parallel/perpendicular to the plano surface of the device. The stepped profile of the corrective lens is determined to approximate a lens curvature R which will impart a curvature to the wavefront passing therethrough to essentially cancel selected inherent imaging system aberrations. In particular, a corrective lens of the present invention may be utilized to correct for field curvature, spherical aberration, or both. The corrective lens of the present invention may be formed to be either transparent or reflective, depending upon system requirements.

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Naperville, IL, United States of America

Jose M Sasian-Alvarado