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.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Mar. 16, 2004
Filed:
May. 16, 2001
Michiya Masuda, Yokohama, JP;
Fumio Takahashi, Yokohama, JP;
NHK Spring Co., Ltd., Kanagawa, JP;
Abstract
In an optical waveguide Y junction, comprising an input waveguide path, a split portion having one end smoothly connected to an end of said input waveguide path, and a pair of bifurcated ends, and a pair of output waveguide paths each having an end smoothly connected to a corresponding one of said bifurcated ends of said split portion, the split portion defines a modified asymmetric Y-shaped waveguide path which is defined by modifying an original symmetric Y-shaped waveguide path having a substantially constant width by removing an asymmetric wedge-shaped section from a side of the split portion interposed between the output waveguide paths. Thus, simply by changing the inner profile of the split portion, a desired uneven split ratio can be achieved without providing a spread out split portion or requiring any abrupt change in the shape of the waveguide path. This contributes to the reduction in the loss of the signal light. Also, a desired split ratio can be readily achieved by suitably changing the dimensions of the wedge-shaped section. In particular, by selecting a wedge-shaped inner profile, the design and fabrication of the junction can be simplified.