Arroyo Optics, Inc.

Archcom Technology, Inc.

Xian-Li Yeh

Victor Leyva

George A Rakuljic

Gang Paul Chen

Huey Lu

Locally heated low temperature solder glass is used to permanently fix an optical fiber with sub-micron precision to a glass ceramic submount inside a high power pump laser module. The fiber is manipulated into a predetermined alignment while the solder glass is still molten and the solder glass is then cooled to its solidified state. The predetermined alignment may include an offset to compensate for subsequent thermally related dimensional changes as the solder glass cools and solidifies. If necessary, the solder glass can be remelted and the fiber realigned with a different offset if the first alignment attempt is less than optimal. This alignment process has been demonstrated to provide reliable and efficient coupling of an optical fiber to a high power pump laser within very tight tolerances. A similar process can also be applied to other micro-optics assemblies where high precision, high reliability fiber fixing is required.

Packaging for high power pump laser modules

A fast acting, low insertion loss switch for use in an optical fiber communication system includes a small diameter waist region incorporating a Bragg grating which is precisely tuned by tensioning to be reflective at a selective wavelength band. By a small physical shift of the waist, as by lateral displacement of an attached small magnetic element with a magnetic field, the periodicity of the grating is varied so that the selected wavelength is passed through the waist with virtually no loss. The incremental motion required can be introduced by a variety of devices, selected in accordance with cost, size and response time requirements. Modules having a number of such switches in close juxtaposition offer distinct advantages for wavelength division multiplexed systems.

Low loss wavelength selective optical switch

An optical signal filter for providing a periodic transfer function in transmitting signals within a selected bandwidth, by which passbands are interleavered into groups of separate outputs. The filter employs the transmissivity characteristic of birefringent crystals in conjunction with splitting the input beam into orthogonal and separate components, while compensating for temperature variations by pairing crystals of different types. The transmissivity functions are independent of the polarization of the input beam, and are shaped to flatten transmissivity peaks by the use of cascaded stages of birefringent crystal pairs.

Interleaving optical filter

Precisely tensioned optical fiber devices are held in a temperature compensated package, with a small diameter span of a fiber containing a Bragg grating of a needed periodicity being supported under tension at opposite ends between spaced apart end members whose thermal expansion characteristics differ from that of an underlying base. The direct points of attachment of the ends of the tensioned span are rotationally as well as axially movable, enabling fine tuning of periodicity and twisting to minimize polarization and dispersion effects. This configuration is also useful for unique methods of assembly of the components, and for use during writing the Bragg grating in the small diameter span.

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Walnut, CA, United States of America

Xian-Li Yeh