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:
Feb. 15, 2005
Filed:
Apr. 15, 2002
Aref Chowdhury, Springfield, NJ (US);
Robert Meachem Jopson, Rumson, NJ (US);
Aref Chowdhury, Springfield, NJ (US);
Robert Meachem Jopson, Rumson, NJ (US);
Lucent Technologies Inc., Murray Hill, NJ (US);
Abstract
An optical comb generator includes frequency-shifting elements of a particular type that we refer to as a 'frequency mirror.' A frequency mirror mixes input light at a signal frequency and a reference frequency to produce output light at a third frequency that lies in contraposition to the signal frequency relative to the reference frequency. The comb generator includes at least two frequency mirrors, having respective reference frequencies Fand F. At least some of the power of a light beam is shifted by the first frequency mirror from an input frequency to a frequency that lies in contraposition thereto relative to F, and then light at the shifted frequency is shifted to yet a new frequency by the second frequency mirror. The resulting twice-shifted frequency lies in contraposition to the once-shifted frequency, relative to F. The result is that a difference of 2(F−F) separates the twice-shifted frequency from the input frequency. This process is repeatable to generate a comb of equally spaced, shifted frequencies. In specific embodiments of the invention, the frequency mirror is a periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) device pumped by laser radiation at the pertinent reference frequency.