Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation

Yujiro Katoh

Haruki Kozawaguchi

Yoshiaki Tachikawa

Naoto Sugimoto

Toshihiro Shintaku

An inexpensive polarization independent optical nonreciprocal circuit which does not require a use of expensive birefringent crystals, optical branching circuits, and a phase adjustment. The optical nonreciprocal circuit is formed by at least one lens through which a light propagating between two waveguides passes; and a polarization rotation circuit for sequentially applying a nonreciprocal rotation and a reciprocal rotation to a first half of the light propagating between two waveguides, and sequentially applying a reciprocal rotation and a nonreciprocal rotation to a second half of the light propagating between two waveguides, so that the first half and the second half of a light propagating forward are set to have an identical polarization to form an even guided mode and coupled, while the first half and the second half for a light propagating backward are set to have opposite polarizations to form an odd non-guided mode and dissipated.

Growing community of inventors

Ibaragi-ken, Japan

Yujiro Katoh