National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology

Dainichiseika Color & Chemicals Mfg. Co., Ltd.

Seiko Instruments Inc

Inter Energy Co., Ltd.

Spacecreation Co., Ltd.

The Head of Agency of Industrial Science and Technology

Dainichiseika Color & Chemical

Noritaka Yamamoto

Takashi Hiraga

Norio Tanaka

Ichiro Ueno

Toshiko Mizokuro

Nobutaka Tanigaki

Hiroshi Muramatsu

Noriyasu Shiga

Hiroyuki Mochizuki

Norio Chiba

Hiroshi Nagaeda

Shigeru Takarada

Shiro Futaki

Katsunori Honma

Kuniaki Aoki

Hirobumi Watanabe

Hirofumi Watanabe

Kunio Nakajima

Masamichi Fujihira

Tetsuo Moriya

Akira Egawa

Mineyuki Hattori

Masutaka Koyano

Kunio Ikuma

Shin Horiuchi

Akihiro Mito

An optical path switching type optical signal transmission/reception apparatus includes a one-to-seven compatible optically controlled optical path switching apparatusthat is connected to a host optical signal transmission/reception apparatusvia an optical fiber, a total of seven subordinate optical communication adaptersconnected via optical fibers, user side devicesconnected to respective subordinate optical communication adapters via an electric circuit, an optical transmission/reception control circuit provided in each of the total of seven subordinate user side optical communication adapters, and including an uplink optical signal transmission mechanism, a downlink optical signal reception mechanism, a control light source that can generate control light to drive the optical path switching apparatus, in which a wavelength of the generated control light is different from a wavelength of signal light, and an optical communication oriented transmission/reception mechanism using the wavelength of the control light source, optical pathstodedicated to the control light to connect the optical path switching apparatusto the seven user side optical communication adapters, and a reflection-type star coupler.

Optical path switching signal transmission/reception apparatus and corresponding method

An optical-path-switching apparatus according to the present invention includes a reducing optical system capable of guiding signal light and control light along the direction of gravity into a thermal-lens-forming optical element having an incidence plane positioned to be perpendicular to the direction of gravity in such a way as to differentiate respective convergence points in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis. The apparatus further includes a light-receiving unit configured to converge or condense straight-traveling signal light in the absence of irradiation with the control light and signal light whose optical path has been switched due to irradiation with the control light using the same optical element. Further, the apparatus includes a wedge-type prism provided at a passing position of the optical-path-switched signal light to increase the distance between the optical axis of the optical-path-changed signal light and the optical axis of the straight-traveling signal light.

Optical-path-switching apparatus and light signal optical-path-switching method

An optical deflection apparatus includes a signal light source configured to emit signal light having one or more wavelengths, a control light source configured to emit control light having a wavelength different from the wavelength of the signal light, a thermal lens forming optical element including a light absorption layer configured to transmit the signal light and selectively absorb the control light, and a beam-condensing unit configured to cause beam-condensation of the control light and the signal light at different convergence points in the light absorption layer. The thermal lens forming optical element causes convergence and divergence of the control light and the signal light on an incidence plane of the light absorption layer or its vicinity in a light traveling direction, wherein a thermal lens is reversibly formed in the light absorption layer due to a temperature increase occurring in a region where the control light is absorbed and its peripheral region, and the thermal lens changes a refractive index to change a traveling direction of the signal light.

Optical deflection method and optical deflection apparatus

A thermal lens forming element includes a first chamber serving as a control light absorbing region, which is configured as a columnar body or an N prismatic body (wherein N is an integer equal to or greater than 4) circumscribing the columnar body and filled with a control light absorbing dyestuff solution containing a solvent having a viscosity of 0 to 3 mPa&#xb7;s at 160&#xb0; C. or above and a ratio of the viscosity of the solvent at 160&#xb0; C. to a viscosity of the solvent at 40&#xb0; C. not less than 1 and not greater than 6, wherein the columnar body or the N prismatic body circumscribing the columnar body has a central axis coinciding with an optical axis of incident signal light. The first chamber is connected to a second chamber via a solution channel and a dam. The dyestuff solution and a bubble of an inert gas are confined in the second chamber.

Thermal lens forming element

An automatic circulation collection type data system is constructed by connecting a monitoring device and data collecting modules disposed at respective places through optical cables. The monitoring device transmits a trigger pulse for data collection through the optical cable to each data collecting module. An identification code is given to each data collecting module, and each data collecting module has an automatic circulation mechanism comprising first and second optical switches, a data collecting unit, and a controllerfor performing various kinds of control for data collection. When receiving the trigger pulse from the monitoring device, the automatic circulation mechanism turns on the third switch and transmits the collected data through the optical cable to the monitoring device together with the identification code, and also transmits a trigger pulse through the optical cable to a next data collecting module.

Automatic circulation collection type data collecting system

Data to be sent are, in a data communication unit, first divided into electric signal packets by a data transmission/receipt control unit, whereby an electric signal sequence tag is added to each electric signal packet, then converted into optical packets by an optical signal transmitting unit, and transmitted through an optical signal path. At optical switch, the optical paths of the packets are switched to optical signal paths by the actions of optical destination tags that are respectively synchronized with optical packets and irradiated by an optical signal transmitting unit. At optical signal receiving units, the received optical packets are converted to electric signal packets, and reassembled to be original data according to the identification information on the reassembly sequence recorded in the sequence tag in an electric signal packet by data transmission/receipt control units, and distributed to client devices as electric signals.

Optically controlled optical-path-switching-type data distribution apparatus and distribution method

A data distribution system transmitting and receiving a large capacity of data such as image data smoothly without incurring a delay over an optical fiber line located between a data sever and a client device. In the data transmission system, a plurality of client devices are bus-connected through an optical fiber to a data server transmitting and receiving data as signal light. Each of the client devices has a client optical switch and is connected with a client access device. The client optical switch is structured with a thermal-lens forming element and a signal-light path shifting member. When any of the client devices forwards an access command to its own client access device, control light is irradiated from the client access device to the own client optical switch thus effecting a switchover. Thus, transmission data of from the data server is stored in a data storage of the relevant client device.

Data distribution system and method

An apparatus for producing a nuclear spin-polarized noble gas by spin-polarizing a noble gas in the presence of an optical pumping catalyst under application of magnetic field and laser light, including a cell having a thin reaction chamber, a gas introduction conduit connected in fluid communication with the reaction chamber for feeding the noble gas, a gas discharge conduit connected in fluid communication with the reaction chamber, a first gate valve having an outlet port connected to the gas introduction conduit and an inlet port adapted to be in fluid communication with a noble gas introduction line, a second gate valve having an inlet port connected to the gas discharge conduit and an outlet port, and a capillary tube removably connected to the outlet port of the second valve for recovering a nuclear spin-polarized noble gas produced in the reaction chamber. The apparatus may be directly connected to NMR or MRI.

Apparatus for producing nuclear spin-polarized noble gas, nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer, and nuclear magnetic resonance imager

A flip-flop circuit of the present invention includes a first switch and a second switch which are connected in series to each other. The first switch includes: two input ports upon which light source light and signal light are incident; two output ports for outputting an optical output; and a thermal lens forming element for forming a thermal lens in a predetermined optical inputting condition. Although the second switch is composed in the same manner as that of the first switch, a relation between the wave-lengths to be utilized is inverted. When a state is changed from OFF to ON, a pulse signal is inputted for setting and one of the rays of output light of the second switch is fed-back to the first switch so as to maintain the state of ON. When the state is changed from ON to OFF, a pulse of additional signal light is inputted. Due to the foregoing, the two states of ON and OFF can be stably maintained.

Optical flip-flop circuit

In an end surface closely arranged multicore optical fiber, at least two single-mode optical fibersare, at one and the other ends of the individual single-mode optical fibers, closely arranged in parallel to each other and bound together, such that a center-center distance of adjacent single-mode optical fibersis twice a core diameter of the single-mode optical fiberor greater andtimes a value obtained by subtracting the core diameter of the single-mode optical fiber from a core diameter of a multimode optical fiber to be connected or less, and that the remaining individual single-mode optical fibersare individually independent from each other.

End-surface closely arranged multicore optical fiber and manufacturing method thereof

An optical signal optical path switching method comprising steps of using a thermal lens based on a distribution of refractive index produced reversibly caused by temperature increase generated in an area of the light-absorbing layer film of thermal lens forming devicesand, that has absorbed control light beamsand, and in the periphery thereof, causing the converged signal light beam to exit from the thermal lens forming device with an ordinary divergence angle when the control light beamsandhave not been irradiated and no thermal lens has been formed, and causing the converged signal light beam to exit from the thermal lens forming device with a divergence angle larger than the ordinary divergence angle when the control light beams have been irradiated and a thermal lens has been formed, and causing the signal light beam to travel straight through holesandof mirrors provided with the holes for the signal light beam to pass through when the control light beams have not been irradiated and no thermal lens has been formed, and changing the optical path by reflecting the signal light beam using the hole-provided mirror when the control light beams have been irradiated and a thermal lens has been formed.

Optically controlled optical-path-switching apparatus, and method of switching optical paths

Disclosed is an optical recording medium, comprising a polymer alloy forming a phase-separated domain structure of a coating object, and a volatile substance interacting with the polymer alloy. The volatile substance in a vapor state is deposited on the surface of specific phase-separated domain, and dispersedly infiltrated into the phase-separated domain. The phase-separated domain and the volatile substance chemically interact with each other. The optical recording medium is operable to perform optical recording by utilizing change in the transmittance, reflectance, refractive index or surface potential thereof in response to irradiation of ultraviolet light, visible light, or infrared light from outside. The present invention can provide an optical recording medium suitable for high-density recording in a wide wavelength range.

Optical recording medium, production method thereof and method of using same

An optical path switching method includes converging and irradiating, on a light absorption layer film provided in a thermal lens forming element including at least the film, each of a control light having a wavelength selected from a wavelength band which is absorbed by the film and a signal light having a wavelength selected from a wavelength band which is not absorbed by the film. A thermal lens is reversibly formed according to a distribution of refraction index created by a temperature increase generated in and around an area of the film in which the control light is absorbed according to whether or not the control light is irradiated. The converged signal light is output either in its converged form or after its spread angle is changed. A includes a hole and reflector where the signal light output is either passed through the hole or reflected by reflector.

Optical path switching device and method

A self-emitting optical probe having a built-in light-emitting function, wherein the light-emitting mechanism and the aperture portion of the optical probe are formed by depositing an electrically conductive thin film, an organic thin film, and a metallic film by means of sputtering and oblique vacuum evaporation while rotating the core. The self-emitting optical probe enables an inexpensive scanning near field optical microscope yet simplified in operation.

Growing community of inventors

Ikeda, Japan

Noritaka Yamamoto