Optical Coating Laboratory, Inc.

Jds Uniphase Corporation

Timothy D Goodman

Thomas A Mayer

John D Corless

Janeen Cooke

Clive Egerton

An optical polymer blend includes sub-wavelength particles to modify the refractive index of a polymer to match the refractive index of micro-particles added to adjust the bulk coefficient of thermal expansion of the blend. A relatively large amount of material may be added to the resin to adjust the bulk coefficient of thermal expansion without unduly increasing the viscosity of the blend before setting. In some applications blends are used for molded or extruded optical elements, in other applications, blends are used for optical adhesives with low coefficients of thermal expansion.

Optical polymer blend with bimodal particle sizes

A multiple channel optical multiplexing/demultiplexing system utilizes a beam splitter to divide a single multi-wavelength beam of optical energy into two multi-wavelength beams, or to combine a plurality of multi-wavelength beams into a single output beam. In the demultiplexing configuration, a pair of demultiplexers are configured to receive and separate the two multi-wavelength beams into a plurality of wavelength channels. The two multi-wavelength beams are thus demultiplexed in parallel, allowing greater efficiency by avoiding excess beam attenuation. The individual demultiplexers can be incorporated into a single unitary device or can be optically interconnected as separate parts. Alternatively, the demultiplexing system can use multiple beam splitters to divide a single input multi-wavelength beam into a plurality of multi-wavelength beams for parallel demultiplexing in a plurality of demultiplexers.

Wavelength division multiplexing/demultiplexing systems

Multiple channel multiplexing/demultiplexing devices include an optically transparent optical block seated atop an optically transparent beam-directing member. The optical block includes a plurality of wavelength selective elements, a plurality of reflectors, and at least one imaging optical element. The beam-directing member includes a beam folding mirror and focusing lenses. When the devices are used as demultiplexers, a multi-channel beam is directed into the optical block and relayed in a zigzag pattern onto the wavelength selective elements, which separate selected wavelengths from the beam. The separated wavelengths propagate through the beam-directing member and are focused onto optical receptors.

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Windsor, CA, United States of America

Timothy D Goodman