Corning Incorporated

Corning Optical Communications LLC

Konica Minolta, Inc.

Corning Cable Systems

Steven Joseph Gregorski

John Christopher Thomas

Robert Bruce Elkins, Ii

Jeffrey Dean Danley

Anthony Sebastian Bauco

Kevin Lee Wasson

Andrey V Filippov

Richard Orr Maschmeyer

Bruce Warren Reding

Vikram Bhatia

Fumio Nagai

Jeffrey Scott Cites

Charles Michael Darcangelo

Mark Andrew Stocker

David Andrew Tucker

Bradley Kent Shepard

John Joseph Costello, Iii

James Henry Faler

Richard Alan Quinn

Kenneth Spencer Morgan

Matthew Patrick Hammond

Yukihiro Ozeki

Robert Bruce Ii Elkins

A method of manufacturing an optical fiber, the method including drawing a bare optical fiber from an optical fiber preform along a draw pathway. The method further includes during the drawing step, moving a first fluid bearing from a first position to a second position, the first position being removed from the draw pathway and the second position being disposed in the draw pathway such that the movement of the first fluid bearing to the second position causes at least a first portion of the draw pathway to change direction.

Translating fluid bearings during an optical fiber draw process

Systems and methods for scribing and cleaving an optical fiber held by a ferrule are disclosed. The methods include operably supporting an optical fiber in a ferrule so that a bare fiber section of the optical fiber extends beyond a front end of the ferrule. The method also includes disposing a top-side location of a scribing medium to be in contact with a lower portion of the bare fiber section and a near-side location of the scribing medium to be in contact with the front end of the ferrule. The top-side location includes an abrasive feature while the near-side location is smooth. The scribing medium is moved relative to the bare fiber section to cause the abrasive feature to form a scribe mark at a scribe location at a distance from the front end of the ferrule. The smooth near-side location prevents substantial damage to the ferrule front end.

Systems and methods for scribing and cleaving an optical fiber held by a ferrule

A portion of a core of an optical fiber may be positioned eccentrically in a bore of a ferrule. The portion of the core may be part of an asymmetric cross-sectional region of the optical fiber, and the asymmetric cross-sectional region may include an asymmetric outer surface. The asymmetric outer surface may include an inclined portion spaced outwardly from the portion of the core in a first direction. There may be contact between the inclined portion and the ferrule, so that a lengthwise axis of the portion of the core is spaced apart from a lengthwise axis of the bore in a second direction, and the first and second directions extend substantially opposite from one another.

Asymmetric optical fiber wedge for core positioning

Lengths of an optical fiber may be broken apart from one another while a cross-sectional region of the optical fiber is in a state of multi-axial compressive stress, and the multi-axial compressive stress extends across the optical fiber. The breaking can include propagating a crack across the optical fiber. The crack can be positioned in sufficiently close proximity to the cross-sectional region so that the multi-axial compressive stress restricts the crack from penetrating the cross-sectional region. At least a portion of the optical fiber may be in tension during the breaking.

Compressive wedge cleaving of optical fibers

A system for inspecting a body, which includes a first end side, a second end side, and cells extending through the body from the first end side to the second end side, is provided. The system includes at least one light source configured to project light through and out of at least one corresponding group of the cells, a target configured to display the light projected through and out of the at least one corresponding group of the cells, an imaging system configured to determine at least one location of the displayed light on the target, and a system processor configured to compare the determined at least one location of the displayed light with a location of the at least one light source and calculate, from the comparison thereof, at least one of a pointing angle and a pointing vector for the at least one corresponding group of the cells.

System and method for inspecting a body

Embodiments disclosed herein include pre-terminated fiber optic connector sub-assemblies, and related fiber optic connectors, cables, and methods. In certain embodiments, an optical fiber stub is pre-installed in a ferrule bore of a ferrule of a fiber optic connector sub-assembly, to provide the pre-terminated fiber optic connector sub-assembly. The optical fiber stub can be pre-installed in the ferrule bore prior to termination of the fiber optic connector sub-assembly. Because the pre-terminated optical fiber stub disposed in the ferrule bore is not directly accessible through a ferrule body of the ferrule when a field optical fiber is disposed in the ferrule bore for fusion splicing, the ferrule has properties that allow thermal energy to be directed through the ferrule body into the ferrule bore. In this manner, the optical fiber stub pre-installed in the ferrule bore can be fusion spliced with the field optical fiber to terminate a fiber optic cable.

Preterminated fiber optic connector sub-assemblies, and related fiber optic connectors, cable assemblies, and methods

Methods and apparatuses for cooling optical fibers are disclosed. In one embodiment, In some embodiments, a cooling apparatus for cooling an optical fiber in a production process includes a channel defined by at least one sidewall assembly and a plurality of interior cavities positioned along the interior of the sidewall assembly. The interior cavities include at least one plenum, a first plurality of fluid supply cavities in fluid communication with the at least one plenum, and a second plurality of fluid supply cavities in fluid communication with the at least one plenum. Cooling fluid is supplied from the at least one plenum to the first plurality of fluid supply cavities in a first direction and the second plurality of fluid supply cavities in a second direction opposite the first direction.

Methods and apparatuses for cooling optical fibers

Methods of optimizing optical alignment in an optical package are provided. In one embodiment, the optical package includes a laser diode, a wavelength conversion device, coupling optics positioned along an optical path extending from the laser diode to the wavelength conversion device, and one or more adaptive actuators. The method involves adjusting the optical alignment of the wavelength conversion device in a non-adaptive degree of freedom by referring to a thermally-dependent output intensity profile of the laser diode and a thermally-dependent coupling efficiency profile of the optical package. The adjustment in the non-adaptive degree of freedom is quantified such that, over a given operating temperature range of the optical package, portions of the coupling efficiency profile characterized by relatively low coupling efficiency offset portions of the output intensity profile characterized by relatively high laser output intensity and portions of the coupling efficiency profile characterized by relatively high coupling efficiency offset portions of the output intensity profile characterized by relatively low laser output intensity. Additional embodiments are disclosed and claimed.

Alignment optimization for optical packages

Particular embodiments of the present disclosure relate systems and methods for evaluating visible light sources. According to one embodiment, a method of evaluating a visible light source including a semiconductor laser having a gain section, a wavelength selective section, and a phase section includes applying a gain drive signal to the gain section of the semiconductor laser at a gain modulation frequency, and applying a triangular wave drive signal to the wavelength selective section of the semiconductor laser at a wavelength selective modulation frequency that is greater than the gain modulation frequency. The light source emits a plurality of optical output pulses. Output power values of the optical output pulses at a selected wavelength are detected. The output power value of one or more selected output pulses is compared with an output power threshold value to generate an indication of whether the visible light source satisfies an output power specification.

Systems and methods for visible light source evaluation

Methods of positioning an optical unit in an optical package are provided. According to one method, a partially assembled optical package is provided. The wavelength conversion device within the package comprises a conversion layer having a waveguide portion formed therein. The optical unit is coarse-positioned in the optical package to direct light from the laser diode to the wavelength conversion device in the form of a beam spot on an input face of the wavelength conversion device. The intensity of the frequency-converted optical signal output from the wavelength conversion device is monitored as the position of the optical unit is modified to 1D scan the beam spot along a portion of a crossing axis Ythat crosses a planar projection of the conversion layer of the wavelength conversion device. Subsequently, the crossing axis Yis offset and the intensity monitoring step is repeated as the beam spot is 1D scanned along an offset crossing axis Y.

Optical package alignment systems and protocols

Methods for producing optical fibers along nonlinear paths include incorporating fluid bearings. An optical fiber is drawn from a preform along a first pathway, contacted with a region of fluid cushion of a fluid bearing, and redirected along a second pathway as the fiber is drawn across said region of fluid cushion.

Methods for drawing optical fibers using a fluid bearing

An optical package is provided comprising a lens system, the lens system comprising an adjustable lens component, a plurality of magnetic elements, and a multi-directional lens flexure. The adjustable lens component is mechanically coupled to a lens mounting portion of the multi-directional lens flexure. The magnetic elements comprise at least one fixed magnetic element and at least one motive magnetic element. The arrangement of the fixed and motive magnetic elements relative to each other forms a first fixed/motive element pair and a second fixed/motive element pair. The motive magnetic element of each fixed/motive element pair is mechanically coupled to a motive portion of the multi-directional lens flexure. The structure of the multi-directional lens flexure and the arrangement of the fixed/motive element pairs is such that non-orthogonal repulsive or attractive magnetic force vectors generated between magnetic elements of the respective fixed/motive element pairs generate movement of the adjustable lens component through orthogonal components x, y along X and Y axes of the X-Y optical reference frame.

Optical package comprising an adjustable lens component coupled to a multi-directional lens flexure

A method is given for aligning an optical package comprising a laser, a wavelength conversion device, at least one adjustable optical component, and at least one actuator. The adjustable optical component may be moved to a command position by applying a pulse width modulated signal to the actuator. The command position represents an optimized alignment of the laser and wavelength conversion device. The actual position of the adjustable may be measured by measuring an output of a position measuring circuit, which may measure the voltage amplitude of an oscillation in a resonator tank circuit during an 'off' period of the pulse-width modulated signal. The resonator tank circuit may comprise a capacitive element electrically coupled to the electrically conductive coil. The pulse-width modulated signal may then be adjusted to compensate for any difference in the actual position and the command position of the adjustable optical component. Additional embodiments are disclosed and claimed.

Growing community of inventors

Painted Post, NY, United States of America

Steven Joseph Gregorski