Abstract: A temperature-controlled optoelectronic module that includes a module housing, a laser mount structure for affixing a laser package in the module housing, an optical fiber receptacle structure disposed adjacent to the laser mount structure, a thermal isolator affixed between the laser mount structure and the optical fiber receptacle structure, and a temperature controller coupled to the laser mount structure and operable to regulate temperature of the laser package is disclosed. In the absence of the thermal isolator, a “thermal short” may be created between the module housing and the laser package, substantially reducing the efficiency of the temperature controller. The presence of the thermal isolator eliminates the “thermal short,” substantially increases the effectiveness of the temperature controller and enables the miniaturization of temperature-controlled optoelectronic transceiver modules.

Abstract: An optical transmission fiber for use in a wavelength division multiplexing transmission system is disclosed. The transmission fiber includes an inner core surrounded by a first, second and at least a third glass layer along the length of the fiber. The first glass layer has a depressed refractive-index difference and the second glass layer has a refractive-index difference of substantially zero. The third glass layer has a positive refractive-index difference. The fiber has an improved relationship between dispersion slope and depressed profile volume. The fiber can have a dispersion value of at least 1.5 ps/nm/km and a dispersion slope of less than about 0.07 ps/nm2/km over an extended range of carrier wavelengths for the transmission system, such as the range 1450-1650 nm.

Abstract: A polarization dispersion compensation apparatus includes a polarization controller, a polarization beam splitter, an optical delay circuit, and a polarization beam combiner. The polarization controller controls polarization of an optical signal so that the polarization axis of the input optical signal substantially coincides with the optical axis of an optical transmission line, and the polarization beam splitter section splits the optical signal into two polarized components perpendicular to each other. The optical delay circuit section causes a difference in delay between the two polarized components, and the polarization beam combiner section combines the two polarized components output from the optical delay circuit section.

Abstract: A method is provided for forming a waveguide in a printed circuit board. This may include forming a trench in a printed circuit board substrate and forming at least one metalized surface along the trench. A metalized capping surface may be provided over the trench so as to form the waveguide structure.

Abstract: An optical MEMS devices is imaged to a different location at which a second optical MEMS device is located in a manner that effectively combines the tilt angles of at least one micro mirror of each of the first and second optical devices. The imaging system may reproduce the angle of reflection of the light from the first micro mirror. This may be achieved using a telecentric system, also known as a 4 f system, as the imaging system. The physical size of the arrangement may be reduced by compacting the optical path, e.g., using appropriate conventional mirrors, and/or employing folded arrangements, i.e., arrangements in which there is only one MEMS device stage that does double duty for both input and output through the use of at least one conventional mirror.

Abstract: An electro-optical circuit board (EOCB) in which an optical waveguide for transmitting an optical signal, and a driving unit/receiving unit and an optical source/optical detector for converting an electrical signal into the optical signal, and vice versa are integrated. The EOCB has a structure from which a lens is excluded for the purpose of an economical and efficient optical coupling between the optical waveguide and the optical source/optical detector. The optical source/optical detector are buried within a trench of a metal optical bench. The optical waveguide is then attached on the surface of the optical source/optical detector by means of an epoxy.

Abstract: A mirror is fixed at the front of a mirror holder constituting a moving body. First and second coils are attached on the outer circumferential surface of the mirror holder at both sides of a plane passing through the center of gravity of the moving body and parallel to the surface of the mirror. The moving body is rotatably supported by springs so that a rotation axis and another rotation axis orthogonal thereto pass through the center of gravity. Magnets are fixed to a stationary magnet holder to lie at the right and the left sides of the first coil and the upper and lower sides of the second coil. The centers of torque acting on the first and second coils when driving current is applied to the first and second coils are set in the vicinity of the center of gravity and the supporting point of the springs.

Abstract: The invention includes a microchannel plate for an image intensifier tube, in which the plate has multiple microchannels extending in a longitudinal dimension between transverse surfaces of the plate. Each microchannel includes a first portion forming a first opening at an end proximate a surface of the plate. The first portion includes a wall extending longitudinally from the surface and terminating in a substantially similar first opening at a distal end. The microchannel also includes a second portion of the wall, extending longitudinally from the first opening at the distal end and tapering toward a second opening at a further distal end. The first opening at the proximate end has a diameter that is substantially similar to a diameter of the first opening at the distal end. The first opening is also wider than the second opening.

Abstract: Optical devices, components and methods for mounting optical fibers and for side-coupling light to/from optical fibers using a modified silicon V-groove, or silicon V-groove array, wherein V-grooves, which are designed for precisely aligning/spacing optical fibers, are “recessed” below the surface of the silicon. Optical fibers can be recessed below the surface of the silicon substrate such that a precisely controlled portion of the cladding layer extending above the silicon surface can be removed (lapped). With the cladding layer removed, the separation between the fiber core(s) and optoelectronic device(s) can be reduced resulting in improved optical coupling when the optical fiber silicon array is connected to, e.g., a VCSEL array.

Abstract: The present invention adds a gel-swellable layer in fiber optic cables to aid in protecting the fibers within the cable. The gel-swellable layer can be placed on the fibers, individual ribbons, stacks of ribbons and on the inner surface of tubes by various methods, such as co-extrusion, and can be cured by either heat curing or UV curing. The gel-swellable layers of this invention can be either smooth or textured. When the fibers are placed into the tubes and the tubes are filled with the water resistant gel, the gel-swellable layer absorbs some of the gel causing it to “swell”. As a result of the “swelling” a certain volume of gel is absorbed by the layer, thus reducing the capability of the gel to flow at elevated temperatures.

Abstract: An optical routing apparatus and method that achieves improved optical signal reintegration is disclosed. The optical routing apparatus includes an input port, such as may be provided at the end of an optical fiber. The signal may be routed to one or more of a plurality of output ports, such as may also be provided at the end of an optical fiber, each output port being configured to receive the optical signal. The routing between the input port and the output ports is accomplished with an optical switching arrangement that may shift among multiple distinct optical configurations, each configuration being such as to direct the optical signal to one of the output ports. The ports are positioned such that the input port and at least one of the output ports lie in different parallel planes, each such plane being orthogonal to a path along which the optical signal is provided by the input port or received by one of the output ports.

Abstract: An optical waveguide coupler relaxes a phase matching condition and facilitates coupling between an optical waveguide and a resonator. Light in a multimode optical waveguide is coupled directly to a microsphere resonator via evanescent light. Under a nonresonance condition, influence of the microsphere resonator is small, and light propagation through the multimode optical waveguide is not influenced. However, since the intensity of the light stored in the microsphere resonator is high under the resonance condition, even if the coupling efficiency is low, the microsphere resonator outputs light of approximately the same power as that of the light in the multimode optical waveguide. Therefore, a strong coupling condition is always satisfied, and the optical waveguide coupler functions as a filter due to the interference between the light in the multimode optical waveguide and the light that has passed through the microsphere resonator.

Abstract: The inventive coupling device enables a high interconnection density of single mode optical fiber in active and passive devises used in a fiber optic telecommunication system. The coupling device comprise a micro-lens formed by terminating a single mode optical fibers with an optimized gradient index fiber, thus avoiding a significant increase in fiber diameter. The gradient index is optimized to provide a long working distance to the minimum spot size so that efficient coupling can be achieved in a free space interconnection between either multiple single mode fibers or a single mode fiber to a transmitting or receiving device.

Abstract: The present invention aims at providing a connecting method of optical devices capable of suppressing a periodic wavelength dependence loss and the like, due to the inter-polarization-mode interference caused when connecting a plurality of optical devices by using an optical path having a polarization-preserving characteristic, and an optical apparatus applied with the connecting method. To this end, the connecting method according to the present invention, is to connect a plurality of optical devices to one another by using an optical path of polarization-preserving type having optical characteristics in which a light is propagated along two different polarization axes for substantially equal distances.

Abstract: A monolithic integrated optical component includes a control transistor connected to an electro-optical component including an active waveguide and at least one input waveguide and one output waveguide. The transistor is a heterojunction bipolar transistor including at least one sub-collector layer that is common to a confinement layer of the electro-optical component. The active waveguide of the electro-optical component includes a widened structure under a contact area of the heterojunction bipolar transistor and having substantially the same surface area as the transistor.

Abstract: A wavelength router that selectively directs spectral bands between an input port and a set of output ports. The router includes a free-space optical train disposed between the input ports and said output ports, and a routing mechanism. The free-space optical train can include air-spaced elements or can be of generally monolithic construction. The optical train includes a dispersive element such as a diffraction grating, and is configured so that the light from the input port encounters the dispersive element twice before reaching any of the output ports. The routing mechanism includes one or more routing elements and cooperates with the other elements in the optical train to provide optical paths that couple desired subsets of the spectral bands to desired output ports. The routing elements are disposed to intercept the different spectral bands after they have been spatially separated by their first encounter with the dispersive element.

Abstract: Provided are connection methods and a heat treatment apparatus to be used in the method capable of readily applying heat treatment to a fusion-spliced portion of a connection line which is formed by fusion-splicing optical fibers of different kinds and capable of finishing the heat treatment with no excess or insufficiency. In the connection methods, after fusion-splicing the optical fibers of different kinds having different MFDs, the heat treatment is carried out to match the MFDs. At the same time, a dummy connection line of dummy optical fibers of different kinds is prepared, which is the same combination as the connection line of the optical fibers of different kinds to which the heat treatment is applied. While measuring connection loss in the dummy connection line directly or indirectly, the heat treatment is applied to the dummy connection line as well as the connection line.

Abstract: A chirped Bragg grating is fabricated in an optical fiber by exposing the fiber to a coherent beam of light through a parallel phase mask having a series of progressively chirped segments produced on a lithography tool. The chirped phase mask is fabricated by exposing a photoresist-coated substrate to an image writing element such as an electron beam or a laser according to a set of parameters provided to the lithography tool. The parameters include a basic grating pattern for each segment, a value that defines the expansion or contraction of the grating pattern and an axis location to which the grating pattern is to be written to the substrate. By selecting machine commands that implement these parameters with a minimum throughput overhead, the mask can be produced in a reduced time, and therefore with increased accuracy.

Abstract: The present invention involves the use of coupling fixtures that permit optical elements to be aligned with planar waveguides of planar lightwave circuits. In particular, alignment of the coupling fixtures typically does not require powering of the optical element yet provides a degree of alignment that is comparable to that obtained by active alignment techniques. The alignment process is accompanied by an assembly process that may be performed at relatively high temperatures. This typically makes it possible to use solder for attaching the optical element to the planar lightwave circuit while retaining alignment accuracy. This is advantageous since soldering typically is the preferred choice for assembling components, such as single-mode devices, that require a relatively high degree of alignment precision together with good mechanical rigidity.

Abstract: A transparent optical switch includes network management and performance monitoring using bit level information obtained by extracting selected information on a polling basis and analyzing the extracted information in the electrical domain. In one embodiment, a signal is injected into the switch fabric of the switch via a demultiplexing device. The injected signal is extracted at the output of the switching fabric via an N:1 switch and analyzed by a signal analyzer to verify input to output connections. In another embodiment, an optical switch includes first and second switch fabrics for 1:2 broadcast capability. In a further embodiment, an optical communication system includes a plurality of optical networks and a plurality of optical switches that cooperate to generate unequipped signals and to obtain autonomously switch-to-switch port connectivity information required for auto-topology discovery.