Abstract: An optical fiber enclosure for a pedestal environment includes a pedestal which slideably supports a closure within the pedestal along a vertical direction so that during freeze-thaw envionrmental conditions when the pedestal is raised and lowered by expanding and contracting earth the closure does not impose undue stress on optical fiber cables connected thereto. Another enclosure suitable for buried applications also includes means for slideably extending an inner closure therefrom along a vertical direction to aid a craftsperson in accessing and working on the inner closure, the buried enclosure including means for allowing one or more loops of telecommunications cable to be stored therewithin for allowing the inner closure to be removed a substantial distance therefrom.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to a heat shrink clad core optical conduit and to an optical conduit having either a thermoplastic, thermoset or liquid, light transmitting core surrounded by, preferably a fluoropolymer cladding which is in turn surrounded by a tight-fitting, finish polymer jacket which may be either transparent or translucent, and is preferably made of a polyvinyl chloride, polycarbonate, acrylic or silicone material. Numerous fillers and inserts may be used in the finish jacket polymer and the finish jacket polymer may be formed into various shapes. Bondable jacket materials may be used. The preferred method of forming the manufacturing jacket around a heat shrinkable fluoropolymer cladding is by extruding a low extrusion temperature polymer over a heat shrink clad in its expanded form into which an increased interior pressure is maintained to prevent shrinkage during the extrusion process.

Abstract: An optical modulator having a waveguide region comprising first and second layers of material having differing effective masses for free charge carriers at a predefined band edge energy disposed immediately adjacent to each other and covered by a lower refractive index cladding. A preferred embodiment employs a semiconductor system such as Al.sub.y Ga.sub.1-y As for the first and second material layers with the value of y adjusted between the layers so that the conduction band edge energies of the direct band in one layer is about the same as that of the indirect condition band in the other layer. A mechanism is provided for moving charge carriers between the first and second layers, such as metal contacts and a power source for applying electrical fields to the waveguide structure in a desired modulation pattern. The material layers may be deposited as a series of quantum wells with limited disordering or a ridge structure used to obtain lateral confinement.

Abstract: An optical fiber composite overhead ground wire in which a plurality of optical fibers are wound together on a tension member to form an optical unit. A plurality of such optical units are disposed in a spacer around which ground wires are wound. The optical fibers within a unit are identified by color and possibly winding order. Each tension member is also identified from other tension members so each optical fiber can be uniquely identified.

Abstract: A fiber optic curtain when activated projects a multitude of bright pinpoints of light without the use of electrical wires or lamp filaments for illumination. The curtain has one or more cloth panels with attached fiber optic strands having tips substantially perpendicular to and substantially flush with the front face of the panels. Bright pinpoints of light are formed at the tips when the other ends of the fiber optic strands are connected to a light source, but the tips are not visible before the light source is activated.

Abstract: This invention discloses an optical fiber connect/disconnect for power lasers. The connect/disconnect should allow a laser/fiber user to quickly interface fiber injection input and fiber output couples while providing electrical feedback and optical alignment. The connect/disconnect also offers an electrical feedback which should provide the user with operating parameters of the input and output couplers and/or the connect/disconnect assembly.

Abstract: An optical fiber connector for terminating and providing strain relief on an optical fiber cable having an inner fiber, an outer jacket and longitudinal strength material therebetween. A housing has a rear input end into which the fiber, stripped of the outer jacket, extends, along with a front termination end. The rear input end of the housing is externally threaded and about which the longitudinal strength material is positionable. An internally threaded strain relief member is provided and through which the cable extends. The strain relief member is threadable onto the externally threaded rear input end of the housing to clamp the longitudinal strength material directly between the threads of the housing and the strain relief member. Grooves span the threads of the housing to prevent at least some of the longitudinal strength material from spiralling with the threads when the strain relief member is threaded onto the housing.

Abstract: A permanent connector for optical fibers comprises a protective glass tube (2), a capillary tube (1) received therein and eccentrically joined thereto, the two tubes being made of ultraviolet-transmitting glass, and an adhesive-passing groove (1c) formed in the middle portion of the capillary tube (1) and opening on the side opposite to the side where they are joined together. An ultraviolet-curing type adhesive agent is charged into the permanent connector for optical fibers and the ends of optical fibers (3, 4) are inserted thereinto through the opposite ends thereof until the clads (3a, 4a) are butted against each other in the capillary tube (1) while pushing out the adhesive agent and air. And ultraviolet rays are radiated to cure the adhesive agent (6), thereby connecting the optical fibers (3, 4) together.

Abstract: A color image scanner comprises a noncoherent fiber optic bundle having a linear entrance face and an area exit face coupled to an array of photosensors. The density of sensors of the array is such that each fiber end in the exit face corresponds to a plurality of sensors. A striped (RGB) color filter positioned between the exit face and the sensor array permits a sensor to be selected for each color for each pixel in the entrance face. The addresses of the three sensors for each pixel are stored in a lookup table in a proper sequence to correspond to the proper pixel sequence in the entrance face. the addresses are stored in sequence in ROM and the sequence is triggered for each of the consecutive scan lines of a page being scanned. Thus, color scanner operation is achieved with a monochrome photosensor array in the absence of time-sequential color illumination.

Abstract: A tubular connector body (10) has one end (11) for receiving an optical fibre cable (1) having a plastics outer sleeve (3) protecting an optical fibre (2) and carries at the other end (12) connection means (20) for coupling to another similar connection body. A ferrule (30) is mounted within the other end (12) of the connector body (10) to support an exposed end portion (2a) of the optical fibre (2) within an irradiation settable adhesive material (40) injected into the ferrule (30). A deformable gripping member (50) is inserted into the one end (11) of the connector body (10) to grip an end portion (3a) of the plastics outer sleeve (3) of the cable upon deformation of the gripping member (50) by application of a force to the one end (11) of the tubular connector body (10).

Abstract: Bidirectional lightwave transmission is restored and uniform amplification of lightwave signals over long spans of optical fiber is achieved by employing distributed amplification over the spans. Distributed amplification is achieved with an amplifying optical fiber which includes a long length of optical fiber having a dilute rare-earth dopant concentration substantially in the fiber core region, and a corresponding pump signal generator at at least one end of the doped fiber having the appropriate wavelength and power to cause amplification of optical signals by both Raman effects and stimulated emission from the rare-earth dopants. Dilute concentrations are understood as the range of concentrations substantially satisfying the condition that the gain from the rare-earth dopant, when near saturation, is substantially equal to the fiber loss.

Abstract: The inventive optical fiber communication system comprises Si-based amplifier fiber whose core comprises Ge, Al, and Er. The amplifier fiber has an effective index difference (.DELTA.n) greater than 0.03, an effective core diameter a less than 3.5 .mu.m, a maximum Al concentration in the core of at least 6 mole %, a mode field diameter at the pump wavelength that is less than 5 .mu.m, a V-number at the pump wavelength in the range 1.4-2.0, a cut-off wavelength less than 1.4 .mu.m, and an Er distribution whose effective diameter is less than that of the Ge distribution. The fiber has advantageous properties including low amplification threshold and noise. Disclosed is also a method of making optical fiber that can be used to produce fiber having characteristics (e.g., .DELTA.n>0.03, high Al concentration) not generally obtainable with prior art methods.

Abstract: An impedance-matched semiconductor detector formed on a portion of a waveguide. The waveguiding layer of the waveguide has one refractive index and the light absorbing layer of the detector has another refractive index. An impedance matching layer is formed between the waveguiding layer and the light absorbing layer and has a refractive index intermediate between those of the waveguiding layer and the light absorbing layer.

Abstract: An optical waveguide and an image sensor using the same, the optical waveguide comprising a plurality of bar-shaped cores that are aligned in a proper manner, the cores being made of transparent materials with a large refractive index, and a cladding that is disposed around the cores, the cladding being made of materials with a small refractive index that are capable of absorbing or scattering light, wherein part of each of said cores on which irradiated light is incident is uncovered, or part of said cladding on which irradiated light is incident is transparent.

Abstract: An optical fibre cable comprising a generally non-metallic central core encased in a rigid metallic tube, at least one layer of longitudinal strength members which, or the inner one of which, overlays and is in contact with the rigid metallic tube, and a sheath overlaying the strength member layer, the layer of strength members including, in a respective gap or gaps, at least one longitudinally-welded metallic tube within which is encased at least one optical fibre.

Abstract: A multi-port optical device for transferring optical signals, or portion of optical signals, from one transmission element to another is disclosed. The inventive optical device comprises a pair of graded index lenses having an interposed Fabry Perot etalon. Moreover, the functionality of the device may be modified by varying the transmission characteristics of the etalon, which may be effected by varying the optical path length of the etalon. In operation, the optical device utilizes the graded index lenses as image transfer lenses between transmission elements wherein wavelength selectivity therebetween is afforded by the filtering mechanism associated with the etalon. The optical device may be used as a wavelength multiplexer or as an optical splitter. Moreover, by utilizing a piezoelectric transducer, the optical device may be converted to operate as an optical switch.

Abstract: This device is interposed between two lengths of an optical fiber lead-in cable comprising a core constitution by a small diameter stainless steel tube containing a bundle of optical fibers comprises: a metal plug which is brazed to the end of one length of tube and which includes a barrel including a cavity whose diameter is not less than the diameter of the bundle of fibers and whose outside surface has a diameter which is greater than the diameter of the tube, said outside surface being provided with transverse grooves; a block of epoxy resin molded both over a portion of a bundle of fibers and over the barrel; the resin covering portions of the bundle both inside and outside the barrel; a sleeve fixed in sealed manner to the other length of tube; a clamping ring; a viscous hydrophobic liquid injected into the space remaining empty between the sleeve and the block of epoxy resin; and epoxy resin injected into the cavities inside the sleeve.

Abstract: A light wavelength converter comprising a substrate that is made of a material with a non-linear optical effect, and a loop-shaped optical waveguide that is formed on the substrate, whereby a second harmonic wave or a sum wave emanates from a fundamental wave that has been propagated in a specific area of the optical waveguide and part of the fundamental wave that has not been converted to the second harmonic wave or the sum wave is returned to the specific area of the optical waveguide, so that a fundamental wave with a relatively low output can be efficiently converted to a second harmonic wave and a high-output second harmonic wave can be obtained.

Abstract: A semiconductor optical device and an optical device array is provided which can be used in an optical logic circuit, photonic switching OEIC, etc. The device includes a light amplifying arrangement provided on a bypass waveguide that connects a plurality of optical waveguides, thereby enabling improvement of the light crosstalk and the light propagation loss. In particular, by virtue of providing a light amplifying means in addition to the light deflecting portion, noise components are not amplified, and, therefore, the SN ratio is markedly increased.

Abstract: An optical system producing bright light output for optical pumping, communications, illumination and the like in which one or more fiberoptic waveguides receive light from one or more diode lasers or diode laser bars and transmit the light to an output end where it is focused or collimated into a bright light image. The input end of the fiberoptic waveguide may be squashed into an elongated cross section so as to guide light emitted from an elongated light source such as a diode laser bar. The waveguides are preferably arranged at the output end into a tightly packed bundle where a lens or other optical means focuses or collimates the light. For diode laser bars much wider than 100 microns, a plurality of waveguides may be arranged in a line to receive the light, and then stacked at the output in a less elongated configuration. In this manner, light from many diode lasers or laser bars may be coupled through the bundle into the end of solid state laser medium.