The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.

The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.

Date of Patent:
Nov. 15, 2022

Filed:

Jan. 13, 2020
Applicant:

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA (US);

Inventors:

Jason E. Langseth, Malden, MA (US);

Christopher Hwang, Watertown, MA (US);

William Nowak, West Roxbury, MA (US);

Daniel Miller, Cambridge, MA (US);

David Fouche, Carlisle, MA (US);

Joshua Olitzky, Windham, NH (US);

Assignee:
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
G02B 6/255 (2006.01); G02B 6/42 (2006.01); G01M 11/00 (2006.01); G02B 6/26 (2006.01);
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
G02B 6/2556 (2013.01); G01M 11/338 (2013.01); G02B 6/2551 (2013.01); G02B 6/262 (2013.01); G02B 6/4227 (2013.01); G02B 6/4285 (2013.01);
Abstract

Arrays of fiber pigtails can be used to project and receive light. Unfortunately, most fiber pigtail arrays are not aligned well enough for coherently combining different optical beams. This imprecision stems in part from misalignment between the optical fiber and the endcap spliced to the end of the optical fiber. The endcap is often polished, curved, or patterned, causing the light emitted by the endcapped fiber to refract or diffract as it exits the endcap. This refraction or diffraction shifts the apparent position of the beam waist from its actual position. Measuring this virtual beam waist position before and after splicing the endcap to the fiber increases the absolute precision with which the fiber is aligned to the endcap. This increase in absolute precision reduces the deviation in virtual beam waist position among endcapped fibers, making it easier to produce arrays of endcapped fibers aligned precisely enough for coherent beam combining.


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