Abstract: A wire rope is provided which has an independent wire rope core (IWRC) covered by a plastic jacket. Outer strands are laid on this plastic jacket and wormings or spacers extend from the plastic jacket in between the outer strands to form gaps between the outer strands. Another jacket is provided over the outer strands which also fills the gaps between the outer strands. Both the IWRC and the outer strands are preferably lubricated. A method is also disclosed for manufacturing such wire rope.

Abstract: A wire rope which has an independent wire rope core (IWRC) and outer strands laid around the core. This wire rope has an improved fatigue life when the outer wires of the core and of the outer strands are galvanized. The wire rope may be either fully or partially impregnated with plastic, if desired.

Abstract: A laser beam delivery system is disclosed, which allows transmission of high-power infrared light through a hollow core photonic band gap (HC-PBG) fiber made of non-silica-based glass. In this system, the infrared beam first passes through input coupling optics which focus the beam onto the hollow core of the HC-PBG fiber. In front of the input end of the HC-PBG fiber, there is provided a mask with a hole aligned with the hollow core, and the infrared beam first passes through this hole before entering the hollow core of the HC-PBG fiber. This protects the photonic band gap structure from being damaged by the beam. After passing through the HC-PBG fiber, which may be from one to several hundred meters in length, the infrared beam exits at the output end of the fiber and passes through output coupling optics which collimate and focus the beam onto a desired target.

Abstract: An optical coupler is provided. It has a bundle of multimode fibers with a few-mode fiber in its centre. Such bundle is fused at one end which is the output end for the signal that is transmitted by the few-mode fiber. To make the coupler, this output end of the bundle is aligned and spliced with a large area core double clad fiber while preserving the modal content of the feed-through. A method for making such optical coupler is also provided. It includes the steps of bundling a central few-mode fiber with a plurality of multimode fibers and then fusing one end of such bundle and aligning it and splicing with a large core double clad fiber, while preserving fundamental mode transmission from one to the other.

Abstract: A large mode field diameter optical fiber is disclosed. It is a single mode optical fiber which has a core and a cladding. The core of this fiber has two regions, an inner core region and an outer core region which has a refractive index lower than that of the inner core region. The inner core region is doped with a rare-earth element, such as Er2O3, and a co-dopant, such as Al2O3, and the outer core region is doped with a dopant such as GeO2. The types and amounts of the dopants and co-dopants are adjusted to obtain a fiber with a mode field diameter greater than 5.5 ?m at a wavelength of 1550 nm.

Abstract: A power factor controller or corrector is provided in a regulated power supply circuit, in which the load and line regulation circuitry is separate from one another and in which the line regulation is provided with a 1/x2 modulator in which the switching frequency is inversely proportional to the square of the line voltage.

Abstract: An all-fiber broadband polarization combiner is disclosed based on a Mach-Zehnder (MZ) structure. The entry coupler to the MZ is a polarization pump combiner (PPC) and the exit coupler is a wavelength division multiplexer (WDM) coupler. The two couplers are interconnected with two standard SM fibers which form the arms of the central zone of the MZ. Two polarization maintaining (PM) fibers are spliced to the two input arms of the PPC and are oriented so that polarization X in one PM fiber is orthogonal to polarization Y in the other PM fiber. And the MZ is induced with a phase shift ?? of ? between the two arms of the central zone.

Abstract: An x-ray image detector suitable for radiology has an active matrix substrate with scanning and read-out circuits. Over this active matrix substrate, which can be a two dimensional array of TFTs associated with a storage capacitance, there is deposited a photoreceptor made of a thin layer of amorphous selenium based multilayer structure. The photoreceptor is covered with a light-transparent electrode on top of which there is provided a scintillator. The indices of refraction of the scintillator and of the selenium based multilayer may be matched with the use of the biasing electrode.

Abstract: A packaging device for protectively enclosing an optical component in a substantially clean and anhydrous environment without imparting undue mechanical stresses on the optical component and adjacent segments of optical fiber coupled thereto. An intermediate component is used in combination with a sealing material for sealing the fiber aperture of a protective housing while allowing an optical fiber to extend therethrough. The protective housing is made out of a material having a coefficient of thermal expansion that closely matches that of the optical fiber. A chain of material CTE that includes the CTE of the intermediate component is used in order to circumvent the need for a sealing material having a high melting temperature. The packaging device is also designed so as to reduce water ingress by optimizing the configuration of the sealing component and adjacent structures.

Abstract: A device called “pill” is provided for in-line measurement of properties, such as pressure and temperature, in a fluid flow within a pipeline system. The device is small enough to travel in the medium of the pipeline system in an unrestricted manner. It has at least one sensor to scan properties such as pressure and temperature at a desired rate. Also, the device includes a microprocessor for logging data scanned by the sensor so that it can later be downloaded and analysed by a PC. Moreover, the device has a buoyancy compensator for adjusting the specific gravity of the device to make it compatible with the medium in which it travels. The novel device is particularly suitable for use in solids transport systems, such as mining backfill systems.

Abstract: This invention concerns paint stripping compositions which are particularly suitable for stripping paint off aircraft. The basic composition consists of a mixture of specific amounts of the following substances: aromatic hydrocarbons, dimethyl formamide; N-methylpyrrolidone; benzyl alcohol; alkanolamine; wax; wetting agent; and thickening agent. A modified composition may also contain dimethyl sulfoxide and a terpene solvent. The invention also includes the method of stripping paint from an aircraft by applying the new stripping composition onto the surface of the aircraft allowing the paint to soften and loosen under the action of the composition, or to penetrate under the paint coating, and then gently removing both the loosened paint and the stripping composition from the aircraft surface without damaging the surface.

Abstract: The invention provides an optical filter device which is particularly suitable for compensating the gain produced by an erbium doped fiber amplifier due to temperature variations. The device has a tapered fiber filter mounted on a rigid substrate, such as aluminium, in such a manner that the tapered portion of the filter does not come in contact with the substrate. The fiber of the filter is preferably made of silica.

Abstract: This invention provides a method of obtaining accurate measurements of polarization dependent loss and insertion loss during the tests aiming at measuring the polarization properties of optical components. This is achieved by taking into account every polarization disturbance in the line between generation of known states of polarization and the device under test. The method involves computing within a desired range of wavelengths either the transfer matrix of each polarization perturbing element or of all polarization perturbing elements as a whole, and compensating for errors introduced by these polarization perturbing elements.

Abstract: The invention provides an all-fiber Mach-Zehnder interferometer in which the composition of one of the arms, which connect the couplers, or of a segment of such arm, is doped with dopants, such as GeO2, P2O5, B2O3 and F. The doping is adjusted to obtain a desired thermal dependence of the interferometer within a given temperature range. The segments can further be tapered with an adiabatic taper.

Abstract: A retaining clip for retaining a strip of optical fiber. The clip includes a mounting base for mounting the clip to a mounting surface. A first spacing leg and a second spacing leg are both attached about their respective first ends to the mounting base. A first retaining leg and a second retaining leg are attached to the first and second spacing legs adjacent their respective second ends. The first and second retaining legs respectively defining a first and a second overlapping segment respectively extending generally inwardly beyond the second and first retaining leg second ends. The first and second overlapping segments are in a generally parallel and spaced relationship relative to each other so as to define an insertion slot therebetween. The insertion slot defining an insertion slot longitudinal axis extending in a generally parallel relationship relative to the spacing between the spacing leg first ends.

Abstract: An all-fiber depolarizer having a linear design includes a directional coupler associated with a polarization combiner. Linear light is pumped into the coupler where its intensity is split in two. Between the coupler and the combiner there is included an optical delay and the polarization of one intensity is made orthogonal to the other, as they enter the polarization combiner. The combiner combines the orthogonal polarizations and the light exits by an output in a depolarized state.

Abstract: An all-fiber Mach-Zehnder interferometer has a central fiber structure in which two single-mode fibers are placed to have a desired path difference and are stabilized in such position by bonding them in certain spots. A coupler is then made on each side of the central fiber structure to produce the Mach-Zehnder effect. The combination of the central fiber structure and of the couplers at each end is mounted on a substrate and packaged to produce the interferometer.

Abstract: An optical fiber filter (25) with a non-sinusoidal wavelength response is produced by forming an adiabatic taper in a single mode fiber (10) and forming non-adiabatic tapers (18, 20) on slopes at each end of the elongated central region of this adiabatic tape and in the middle of the central region (12). The non-adiabatic taper (22) in the middle of the central region (12) produces a phase shift in the wavelength response leading to non-sinusoidal filtering characteristics. The filter may be combined with a Mach-Zehnder interferometer to produce a Mach-Zehnder device with a non-sinusoidal wavelength response.

Abstract: A Mach-Zehnder device including an input port, an output port, a substantially achromatic first coupling region optically connected to the input port and a substantially achromatic second coupling region optically connected to the output port. An intermediate region is optically connected to the first and second coupling regions. The intermediate region includes a first intermediate branch and a second intermediate branch. The first intermediate branch defines a phase shifting portion. The phase shifting portion, in turn, defines a phase shifting portion level of birefringence over the length of the phase shifting portion. The phase shifting portion level of birefringence is different that the level of birefringence prevailing over the remainder of the first intermediate branch.

Abstract: Multiplexing and demultiplexing single-mode fiber optic couplers are fabricated by aligning two single-mode fibers which have been stripped of their protective plastic jackets and cleaned so that they are held in parallel contact with each other, and then fusing these fibers to achieve a desired fusion profile and elongating the fused fibers to achieve a match point between the wavelength period and the polarization phase. The elongation process is interrupted and resumed as required to obtain a precise match point required to produce the desired multiplexing or demultiplexing coupler.