The University of Southampton

Spi Lasers UK Limited

Pirelli Cavi E Sistemi S.p.a.

Michael Nickolaos Zervas

Morten Ibsen

Michael Kevan Durkin

Anatoly Borisovich Grudinin

Lars Johan Albinsson Nilsson

Paul William Turner

Dave Neil Payne

Richard Ian Laming

David Neil Payne

Wei-Hung Loh

Shinji Yamashita

Sze Yun Set

Erland Ronnekleiv

Ricardo Feced

Sergio Barcelos

Anatoly Borisovich Grundinin

Motoren Ibsen

An optical amplifier includes at least one pump source and an optical fiber cable which includes an amplifying optical fiber and a pump optical fiber that are defined by respective lengths. The amplifying optical fiber and the pump optical fiber are coated with a common coating along a portion of their respective lengths, and the fibers are in optical contact with each other along a coating length within the common coating. The common coating has a refractive index which is lower than a refractive index of a cladding material of the pump optical fiber. The fibers are made substantially from glass. The amplifying optical fiber includes a core and a cladding, and is doped with a rare earth dopant. The pump optical fiber is defined by a first end and a second end, the first end of the pump optical fiber being connected to the pump source.

Multi-fibre arrangement for high power fibre lasers and amplifiers

An optical fiber arrangement has at least two optical fiber sections, each optical fiber section defining an outside longitudinally extending surface. The outside longitudinally extending surfaces are in optical contact with each other. The invention further provides for an amplifying optical device have an optical fiber arrangement as just described, and a pump source. The amplifying optical device is configured such that the pump source illuminates the amplifying optical fiber. A amplifying arrangement is also disclosed. The amplifying arrangement includes a plurality of amplifying optical devices as just described, and each amplifier also has at least one input fiber and a first multiplexer connected to the input fiber. Each amplifier is configured such that at least one of the amplifying optical fibers is connected to the first multiplexer. The amplifying arrangement also has a second multiplexer connected to each of the first multiplexers.

A method of fabricating a distributed feedback optical fiber laser, comprises the step of exposing an optical fiber () to a transverse light beam () to form a grating structure in a section of the optical fiber, the writing light beam being polarized in a direction not parallel to the axis of the section () of optical fiber ().

Optical fiber laser

A WDM transmitter comprising an array of M pump lasers multiplexed by an M&#xd7;N multiplexer, in the form of a coupler, and used to feed an array of N optically pumped fiber lasers emitting at wavelengths &#x3bb;, &#x3bb;, . . . &#x3bb;. The parameter M determines the number of pump lasers as well as the number of inputs of the pump-multiplexing coupler and can be smaller or equal to parameter N that determines the number of optically pumped lasers. The fiber laser outputs are passed through N isolators before entering N modulators were the signals are monolithically modulated. The outputs of the modulators are passed through an array of N tunable attenuators. Finally all the individual channel outputs are recombined into a single output in a combiner. The output will typically lead to an optical network. The proposed architecture may also be used for optical amplifiers, especially fiber-based optical amplifiers.

WDM transmitter

An optical fibre arrangement has at least two optical fibre sections, each optical fibre section defining an outside longitudinally extending surface. The outside longitudinally extending surfaces are in optical contact with each other. The invention further provides for an amplifying optical device have an optical fibre arrangement as just described, and a pump source. The amplifying optical device is configured such that the pump source illuminates the amplifying optical fibre. A amplifying arrangement is also disclosed. The amplifying arrangement includes a plurality of amplifying optical devices as just described, and each amplifier also has at least one input fibre and a first multiplexer connected to the input fibre. Each amplifier is configured such that at least one of the amplifying optical fibres is connected to the first multiplexer. The amplifying arrangement also has a second multiplexer connected to each of the first multiplexers.

Multi-fibre arrangements for high power fibre lasers and amplifiers

Methods and apparatus for creating a Bragg grating in an optical waveguide having an optical fiber on which the Bragg grating is defined, the Bragg grating having an actual response which closely approximates a desired response. The Bragg grating comprises a plurality of lines, each line being defined by a respective strength, and each line having a relative displacement from adjacent lines. The Bragg grating is designed using a serial iterative response. The serial iterative process can be used to calculate the strength and the line spacing of at least some of the lines. The serial iterative process can further be a function of a coupling function, which is a function of the strength and line spacing of the lines of the grating. A moving window can be used to limit the number of reflections in the impulse response which is used to calculate the next serial line spacing. The serial iterative process can further be a function of the group velocity of light in the optical fiber, the reflectivity of the grating, and the dispersion response of the grating.

Optical fiber grating

An optical device comprises an optical fibre device having wavelength-dependent optical characteristics mounted on a bimorph element operable to bend in response to an electrical control signal, so that the wavelength-dependent optical characteristics of the optical fibre device vary in response to bending of the bimorph element.

Optical device for compensating the dispersion of optical signals

Optical filter device

An optical amplifier comprises first (22) and second (24) lengths of erbium-doped fibre connected in series via an isolator 20 which reduces the transmission of backward-travelling ASE from the second length to the first length when pump power in inputted in to the first length.

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Southampton, United Kingdom

Michael Nickolaos Zervas