Hewlett-Packard Company

Jds Uniphase Corporation

E-Tek Dynamics, Inc.

Raydiance, Inc.

Other

Agilent Technologies, Inc.

Alcatel-Lucent USA Inc.

Kok Wai Chang

Hongwei Mao

Yong Huang

David K Donald

Waguih S Ishak

Kejian Guan

William E Kunz

Yi-Xin Chen

Wayne V Sorin

Paul Colbourne

Robert G Waarts

Julie Elizabeth Fouquet

Long Yang

Datong Chen

Kuochou Tai

Jane Deborah LeGrange

Michael Mielke

Hong Lin

Michael R Greenberg

Qingdong Guo

Jyehong Chen

Bo Cai

Giuseppe Miccoli

Sha Tong

An optical signal control system is constructed from a portion of a material and allows for controlled amount of negative dispersion to be generated across a broadband input signal. The block may be made of a single portion of the material and have surfaces with reflective, transmissive, and/or diffractive optical characteristics. By adjusting the physical dimensions of the block substrate and the line pitch of a diffraction grating etched into a surface of the block, the magnitude of the dispersion can be varied. Laser systems that utilize the optical signal control system may have reduced size and weight as compared to existing compressors and be more robust against misalignment.

Compact monolithic dispersion compensator

An ultra-short pulsed laser system comprises an optical combiner, optical amplifier, optical pulse compressor, and optical separator. The optical combiner is configured to combine a primary optical pulse with a secondary optical signal to generate a combined optical signal. The primary optical pulse and the secondary optical signal have a distinguishable characteristic. The optical amplifier is configured to optically amplify the combined optical signal. The optical pulse compressor is configured to compress at least the primary optical pulse contained within the optically amplified combined optical signal and output a compressed combined optical signal. The optical separator is configured to separate the compressed combined optical signal into an output primary optical pulse and an output secondary optical signal according to the distinguishable characteristic.

Systems and methods for controlling a pulsed laser by combining laser signals

There is provided a system and method for fabricating an optical isolator. More specifically, there is provided a fiber optical isolator comprising a first isolator stage comprising a Faraday rotator configured to adjust the polarity of a light beam, and a heat sink coupled to the Faraday rotator and configured to dissipate heat generated in the Faraday rotator by the light beam.

System and method for fabricating an optical isolator

The instant invention provides an add/drop device including a wavelength filter, a quarter waveplate disposed on either side of the wavelength filter, and a polarizing beamsplitter disposed on either side of the quarter waveplates. Each polarizing beamsplitter has an input port and an output port for launching and receiving a beam of light having a known polarization. A polarization switch is optically coupled to each input/output port for selectably rotating the polarization of the input/output beams of light. Advantageously, the polarization switches, which work in cooperation with each other and the polarizing beam splitters, provide means for a non-moving parts add/drop device.

Non-moving parts add/drop device

A method and device is disclosed for dispersion compensation of an optical signal having periodic dispersion within a multi-channels system. For example interleaved optical channels often exhibit dispersion having a characteristic that is repeated in adjacent channels. By providing a periodic device that allows for polarization dependent routing of an interleaved signal to allow for multiple passes of said signal through a multi-cavity GT etalon, having a free-spectral range that corresponds to the channel spacing, the dispersion in the interleaved signal can be lessened and practically obviated or balanced to a desired level. This invention provides a device and method to achieve that end.

Chromatic dispersion compensation device

The invention provides an optical isolator including a light collector for redirecting and/or absorbing backward propagating radiation. In the preferred embodiment, the light collector includes at least one of a light absorbing material and a light redirector that does not interfere with forward propagating radiation, but collects the unwanted backward propagating light. Accordingly, the light collecting means are suitable for high power applications for protecting the input optics, including epoxy used to secure the input optical fiber, from unwanted reflected light. Some examples of appropriate light collecting means include neutral density filters, polarizers, mirrors, and right angle prisms.

High power fiber isolator

An optical light coupling system is provided which includes an optical waveguide having a slanted end face, a lens for receiving a beam of light from the optical waveguide, wherein an optical axis of the lens defines a line extending through a center of the light guiding portion of the optical waveguide, and a powerless non-birefringent element disposed between the optical waveguide and the lens along the line defined between the optical axis of the lens and the center of the optical waveguide for maintaining a substantially linear propagation of the beam of light along the line, wherein the powerless non-birefringent element has a first end face facing an end face of said optical waveguide and defining an angle therebetween, and a second end face facing the lens. This angle can be adjusted to accommodate imperfect refractive index matches.

Optical coupling system

An optical switch having a TEMC fiber and a displacement plate. The TEMC fiber having an input core and a plurality of output cores. The displacement plate coupled to the TEMC fiber to receive a light beam from the input core. The displacement plate to direct the light beam to one of the plurality of output cores by rotating the displacement plate a predetermined angle.

TEMC fiber based optical switch

Multiple N&times;M and M&times;N optical switchers that may be combined within a single package to produce an N&times;N optical switch, where M is greater than N. The use of multiple optical switchers within an optical switch package allows for a higher degree of isolation than may be achieved than with a single stage optical switch. The optical switchers may be reflection type devices having no moving parts. The optical switchers may include a magneto-optic Faraday rotator having a thin crystal that is easy to grow and consumes less space, thereby enabling a smaller, less expensive, and less complex optical switch.

Reflection based nonmoving part optical switch

A method and apparatus for optically isolating multiple core optical fibers while at the same time substantially reducing polarization mode dispersion, is disclosed. A multiple core fiber is optically coupled to optical birefringent elements, reciprocal and non-reciprocal rotators, and through a lens assembly to a multiple core optical fiber output.

Optical isolator using multiple core fibers

An optical isolator coupled to a thermally expanded multiple core fiber. The thermally expanded multiple core fiber having at least one input core and one output core. The optical isolator to propagate light from an input core to an output core, while inhibiting the propagation of light from an output core to an input core of the thermally expanded multiple core fiber. The fiber cores having expanded mode field diameters that may facilitate coupling to the optical isolator and reduce component size in the optical isolator.

Thermally expanded multiple core fiber based reflection type optical isolator

The isolator core having a walk-off crystal, a non-reciprocal rotator coupled to the walk-off crystal, and a reciprocal rotator coupled to the walk-off crystal.

Reflection type optical isolator

The invention provides an optical attenuator having a pair of substantially parallel mirrors that attenuate an optical signal based, at least in part, on the rotation angle of the mirrors. When the pair or mirrors is in a predetermined position, an input optical signal is directed from an input port to an output port with a minimum insertion loss. As the pair of mirrors is rotated, the optical signal is shifted parallelly, which provides increased insertion loss and an attenuated signal at the output port. The pair of mirrors can be rotated, for example, with a stepper motor, or other device.

Wavelength independent variable optical attenuator

A method of assembling an optical device for coupling optical fibers to a corresponding number of input/output ports of a stack of optical elements includes utilizing at least one controllable multi-state optical element to selectively switch the optical coupling among the ports. The controllable multi-state element is one element within a stack of polarization-manipulating elements having a configuration that allows the condition of the multi-state element or elements to dictate the optical coupling among the ports. In the preferred embodiment, the multi-state element is a Faraday rotator. The method may be used in either or both of a quality control application or a fiber-to-port alignment application. In the quality control operation, the stack of polarization-manipulating elements is tested to verify proper operation with respect to separating and selectively recombining polarization components of input beams. In the fiber-to-port alignment application, the fibers on the same side of the stack are first fixed in a parallel relationship with a known center-to-center distance that is equal to the center-to-center distance between corresponding ports of the stack. By optically aligning one of the fibers on the forward side of the stack with the fibers on the rearward side of the stack, at least one other fiber is automatically brought into registration with its corresponding port.

Method of aligning optical fibers to a multi-port optical assembly

A multiple port reflection based circulator using a thermally expanded multiple core fiber. The circulator includes optical components to separate, rotate, and combine orthogonally polarized components of light in order to propagate light in one direction among consecutive cores of the fiber. The first and last cores of the fiber also being consecutive cores. The thermally expanded multiple core fiber enabling coupling to the circulator without the use of lenses.

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Sunnyvale, CA, United States of America

Kok Wai Chang