Abstract: An optical fiber cable connection organizer device includes a support assembly with lateral accessways for the fibers of the cables, an arrangement for holding splices between the fibers and an arrangement for stowing a surplus length of the jointed fibers. It further includes two sets of magazines for stowing additional slack in the fibers from the two cables. Applications include submarine optical fiber cable joint boxes.

Abstract: A fiber optic linked flame sensor for continuous optical monitoring of the combustion process within the combustion chamber of a gas turbine engine. The system includes a high temperature optical probe, a fiber optic cable, and electro-optics module. The high temperature probe is mounted on the engine skin and sighted in a manner so as to view the combustion process taking place at its origin just aft to the fuel nozzle. The appropriately constructed fiber optic cable connects the high temperature probe with the electro-optics module. The radiation transmitted via the fiber optic cable is then received by an ultraviolet photodiode located in the electro-optics module and coupled with appropriate electronics.

Abstract: A thermal optical switching cell has a channel of either gas or boilable liquid that crosses an optical waveguide at a forty-five degree angle. Two or more appropriately placed heaters use the water/steam/dry states of thermal ink jet technology to quickly insert, or extract, boilable liquid respectively into, or from, the channel. The boilable liquid has an index of refraction close to that of the guide. In the wet state, the channel contains the liquid and nearly all the light of the incoming guide traverses the liquid along the axis of the guide. In the dry state, the channel contains gas. Total internal reflection (TIR) occurs and light is directed at right angles away from the axis of the incoming channel. Adding a second waveguide, perpendicular to, and intersecting the first waveguide at the channel, forms a cross-bar switch. These liquid switching cells toggle between the wet and dry states. No power is required to hold the switch in the most recent state.

Abstract: A splice housing assembly for joining together at least two fiber optic cables. The splice housing assembly has a housing adapted to create a water impervious seal around both a splicing chamber and at least two fiber optic cables that lead into the splicing chamber through the housing. Within the splicing chamber, the various fiber optic cables are joined together via a grounding block or by a direct optical splice. The housing provides structural integrity, electrical insulation and water tightness to the splice, yet the housing can be selectively opened and closed. As a result, any splice can be made and tested, then repaired or adjusted before the housing is permanently sealed with an encapsulation compound.

Abstract: A semiconductor laser device includes a semiconductor substrate of a first conductivity type; a lower cladding layer of the first conductivity type, an active layer, and a first upper cladding layer of a second conductivity type successively disposed on the semiconductor substrate; a first insulating film disposed on the first upper cladding layer and having a stripe-shaped opening; a ridge-striped second upper cladding layer of the second conductivity type grown in the stripe-shaped opening of the first insulating film; a second insulating film disposed on side surfaces of the stripe-shaped ridge and on the first insulating film, a region of the active layer opposite the ridge-striped second upper cladding layer serving as a laser resonator having opposed laser resonator facets. The portions of the active layer adjacent the opposed facets include window regions, each window region having a higher band gap energy than the active region generating the laser beam.

Abstract: An improved lens structure is provided which reduces the scattering and/or reflection losses in an optical cavity. The lens comprising at least a first, second and third lens layer arranged vertically, the first and third lens layers being oxidized in first and third oxidized regions adjacent to first and third non-oxidized regions, the second layer disposed between the first and third layers and comprising a non-oxidized semiconductor material, the first and third non-oxidized regions comprising a semiconductor material, each of the oxidized regions having an aluminum contents greater than 20%; and appropriately spacing the first lens layer from the third lens layer to reduce the scattering and/or reflection losses in an optical cavity.

Abstract: A new class of fiber optic sensors based on nonlinear buckling of fibers and optical bend loss provide intrinsic, all-fiber displacement sensors which exhibit several unique properties. Primary among them is a sensing range from less than 1 .mu.m to several mm, which is convenient for many structural monitoring applications. This sensing range is also very convenient for many actuator and lever arm sensing applications. In addition, the sensors exhibit a very low temperature dependence of the response, and are easily configurable for a variety of novel applications. They may be implemented with single-mode, few mode, or highly multimode fibers, including plastic optical fiber (POF). Both step index and graded index profile fibers produce useful sensors with differing response characteristics.

Abstract: A rugged flexible hollow-fiber waveguide that permits preservation of good transverse spatial coherence of input infrared laser radiation and that transmits substantial power of such radiation, with low attenuation. The present invention preferably comprises a small-diameter thin-wall silica-glass tube; a protective coating on the outer surface of the tube; a sufficient reflective layer on the inner surface of the tube; and a thickness, optimal for the wavelength(s) of interest, of dielectric on the exposed surface of the reflective layer. The fiber is manufactured with processes that maintain the smoothness of the bore. In addition to transmitting mid-infrared laser radiation through the bore of the flexible hollow-fiber waveguide, a second beam may be transmitted through the annular body of the flexible hollow-fiber.

Abstract: An n type lower cladding layer, a quantum well structure active layer, a p type upper cladding layer, and a p type contact layer are epitaxially grown in this order on an n type GaAs substrate, and then a stripe-shaped SiN film extending in the laser resonator length direction and having a length not reaching the vicinity of a region that becomes a laser resonator facet is formed on the contact layer. An In film is formed on the SiN film and the contact layer and then heat treatment is performed, diffusing In to a depth reaching the lower cladding layer and disordering a part of the quantum well structure active layer. The active layer in the vicinity of the laser resonator facet is disordered by diffusing In at a temperature as low as 600.degree. C., and a window structure can be formed without diffusing a dopant impurity at a high temperature.

Abstract: This invention provides a method of increasing adhesion of radiation-cured, inner primary coatings on glass optical fibers. A glass optical fiber drawing tower has a controllable variable amperage electron beam for exposing different sections of a glass optical fiber with different amperage levels of electron beam radiation. The different sections of the glass optical fiber after being exposed to the selected amperage levels of electron beam radiation are then coated with an inner primary coating composition which is finally cured by exposure to actinic radiation. Later formed sections of the same glass optical fiber can be exposed to different amperage levels of electron beam radiation and then coated and cured. The different sections of the glass optical fiber which have been coated with an inner primary coating using this method demonstrate correspondingly different degrees of coating adhesion. Reduced levels of adhesion promoter are required for inner primary coating compositions when using this method.

Abstract: A radiation-emitting semiconductor diode, especially a laser having a first and a second cladding layer, an active layer and a mesa which comprises at least the second cladding layer and which lies recessed in a third cladding layer. The second cladding layer comprises a first sub-layer which adjoins the active layer and is comparatively thin, and a second sub-layer which adjoins the first sub-layer and is comparatively thick, while the refractive index of the first sub-layer is lower than that of the second sub-layer. Confinement in the thickness direction of charge carriers and radiation is good in such a diode, while the third cladding layer has a relatively high refractive index (giving a relatively low bandgap). Thus, the third cladding layer has a relatively low aluminium content, while providing good lateral confinement.

Abstract: In general, the semiconductor laser device of the present invention comprises an emitting element comprising a doped diamond, which is doped with atoms of at least one rare earth metal and/or molecules of at least one compound containing a rare earth metal. The semiconductor laser device assembly according to the present invention comprises an emitting element of a doped diamond, which is a diamond doped with atoms of at least one rare earth metal and/or molecules of at least one compound containing a rare earth metal, and a thermal releasing element of a substantially undoped diamond, on which the semiconductor laser device are placed.

Abstract: A gain region for an interban quantum well laser incudes (a) an emitter ron of semiconductor material having at least one conduction subband and at least one valence subband, these subbands being spaced apart by an energy band-gap; (b) a collector region of semiconductor material having at least one conduction subband and at least one valence subband, these subbands spaced apart by an energy band-gap; (c) a type-I or type-II active region; and (d) a blocking quantum well region of semiconductor material between the active region and the collector region, for keeping electrons in the active region from tunnelling or scattering into the collector region, but allowing electrons in the highest valence subband in the active region to pass into the collector region.

Abstract: An optical filter and method of filtering uses a multi-mode waveguide having a first number n modes and a second waveguide having a different number m modes are coupled in series, where n and m are integers and n>m, and where the interaction of different modes at the interface of the two waveguides filters an optical signal propagating through the waveguides to provide a desired response characteristic. A lateral offset between the central axes of the waveguides at their interface is changed to control the response of the filter. For a multiple wavelength optical source uses, a filter coupled in the optical cavity including a laser gain medium provides interaction of different modes at the interface of waveguides in the filter to filter an optical signal propagating in the cavity thereby providing an output signal with multiple peaks at different wavelengths with a predetermined spacing.

Abstract: An optical planar waveguide notch filter employs a waveguide with first, second and third regions. The first and third regions have structures for propagating an optical signal in a first transmission mode. The second region is located between the first and third regions and has a structure in which an optical signal propagates in the first transmission mode as well as at least one other higher order transmission mode. The structure of the second region further couples a particular wavelength band of the signal propagating in the first transmission mode to at least one of the other transmission modes. This coupling causes an attenuation of energy of such bandwidth in the signal propagating in the first transmission mode. As a result, the signal propagating from the second region to the third region in the first transmission mode is a notch filtered signal possessing an attenuation at the particular wavelength band.

Abstract: This invention is a three-dimensional display apparatus that has the electromechanical ability to form a display into a relief of a video image. The physical formation of the display updates about 1/24th of a second for real time motion in sync with the video image. The displayed relief image is shown in true three-dimensional space that a user sees and feels. This is accomplished by a plurality of optic fiber bundles that have distal ends and proximal ends, the distal ends radiate outwardly from an image projector carrying a light image. An optic fiber adjustment assembly controllably moves the distal ends of the optic fibers away from and toward the image projector thus forming a moving three-dimensional relief image. A sensor determines the position of each of the distal ends of the optic fibers and then sends the position information to a computer. As the images shown by the projector change, a lookup table tells the computer to signal the optic fibers and move them in sync with the new projected images.

Abstract: An optical module and method in which an optical element (32) and an optical waveguide (34) are formed on a silicon substrate (31) so that an optical axis of the optical element coincides with an optical axis of the optical waveguide. Metallized films (41, 42) are formed on the silicon substrate and on the optical waveguide respectively, and these metallized films are bonded to each other by mutual diffusion of their atoms.

Abstract: An optical couplers and optical coupling system for coupling a source of non-coherent light to a light distribution harness, wherein the couplers are polygonal in cross section to increase light mixing, and the coupler has inlet and outlet arms, and an intermediate bend region configured to achieve compactness and minimal light loss through the bend region. In one embodiment, the bend region is an integral part of the coupler, with the inlet arm having a different cross-sectional dimension from the outlet art in such manner that substantially all light directed from the inlet portion to the bend portion reaches the outlet arm portion, and light rays parallel to the inlet axis are reflected in the bend portion to be directed substantially parallel to the outlet axis. In a second embodiment, the bend region comprises a prism having a pair of parallel spaced surfaces, and inlet, outlet, and third surfaces that are non-parallel to the spaced surfaces.

Abstract: An optical chemical sensor comprises an optical waveguide having a light transmitting substrate and a coating of an environmentally sensitive compound in a Zr/Si sol-gel glass binder on the substrate. The sensor is suitable for use in high pH environments. The environmentally sensitive compound may be a chemically sensitive dye e.g. a pH indicator dye.

Abstract: An InP-based opto-electronic integrated circuit including an active layer having one or more quantum wells (36, 38). According to the invention, a barrier layer (34) of AlGaInAs is formed, preferably between the quantum wells and the substrate (30) to prevent the migration of species from the substrate and lower InP layers that tend to shift the emission wavelengths of the quantum wells to shorter wavelengths, i.e., a blue shift. The barrier layer can be patterned so that some areas of the quantum wells exhibit blue shifting to a shorter wavelength while other areas retain their longer wavelength during annealing.