Patents by Inventor Brian Lee Heffner
Brian Lee Heffner has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
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Patent number: 6807356Abstract: An optical attenuator has a planar MEMS substrate supporting two optical fibers; an actuator; and a silicon vane actuatable by said actuator for a movement into and out of the optical beam passed between the fibers. The vane is configured to divert at least a portion of the optical beam off the optical axis when the element is moved into the optical beam. The vane has at least one surface disposed non-perpendicularly relative to the optical axis of the beam. The vane may be of a wedged shape.Type: GrantFiled: December 10, 2001Date of Patent: October 19, 2004Assignee: JDS Uniphase CorporationInventors: Brian Lee Heffner, Long Yang
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Patent number: 6765665Abstract: The invention relates to a simple and relatively inexpensive way of determining the optical bit rate of an optical signal, which is based on the fact that different percentages of the signal will be transmitted through a narrow-band optical filter depending on the bit rate. Increasing the bit rate of an optical signal results in a broadening of the channel spectrum, therefore, if the optical filter is designed with a passband thinner than all (or all but one) of the channel widths, then signals with different bit rates will have distinctive amounts of transmitted light relative to the amount of input light. In the preferred embodiment the optical signal is divided into two sub-beams by a beam splitter, and one of the sub-beams is passed through the optical filter. The power of filtered sub-beam is compared to the power of the unfiltered sub-beam to provide a ratio, which is compared to one or more predetermined values indicative of the bit rate.Type: GrantFiled: October 21, 2002Date of Patent: July 20, 2004Assignee: JDS Uniphase CorporationInventors: Brian Lee Heffner, Robert R. McLeod
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Patent number: 6678445Abstract: A dynamic gain flattening filter is provided that offers a smooth spectral response. The filter includes an input/output port for launching a beam of light, a dispersive element for dispersing the beam of light into a plurality of monochromatic sub-beams of light, and discrete array of controllable elements for receiving the plurality of sub-beams of light. The filter is designed such that each sub-beam of light is incident on more than one element of the discrete array for selective attenuation before being recombined by the dispersive element and redirected back to the input/output port. In another embodiment, a beam-folding mirror is provided to direct the attenuated beam to a separate output port.Type: GrantFiled: December 4, 2000Date of Patent: January 13, 2004Assignee: JDS Uniphase CorporationInventors: W. John Tomlinson, Valentine N. Morozov, Yevgeniy Churin, Brian Lee Heffner, Long Yang, Jinxi Shen
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Publication number: 20030108324Abstract: An optical attenuator has a planar MEMS substrate supporting two optical fibers; an actuator; and a silicon vane actuatable by said actuator for a movement into and out of the optical beam passed between the fibers. The vane is configured to divert at least a portion of the optical beam off the optical axis when the element is moved into the optical beam. The vane has at least one surface disposed non-perpendicularly relative to the optical axis of the beam. The vane may be of a wedged shape.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 10, 2001Publication date: June 12, 2003Applicant: JDS Uniphase CorporationInventors: Brian Lee Heffner, Long Yang
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Publication number: 20030081200Abstract: The invention relates to a simple and relatively inexpensive way of determining the optical bit rate of an optical signal, which is based on the fact that different percentages of the signal will be transmitted through a narrow-band optical filter depending on the bit rate. Increasing the bit rate of an optical signal results in a broadening of the channel spectrum, therefore, if the optical filter is designed with a passband thinner than all (or all but one) of the channel widths, then signals with different bit rates will have distinctive amounts of transmitted light relative to the amount of input light. In the preferred embodiment the optical signal is divided into two sub-beams by a beam splitter, and one of the sub-beams is passed through the optical filter. The power of filtered sub-beam is compared to the power of the unfiltered sub-beam to provide a ratio, which is compared to one or more predetermined values indicative of the bit rate.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 21, 2002Publication date: May 1, 2003Applicant: JDS Uniphase CorporationInventors: Brian Lee Heffner, Robert R. McLeod
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Patent number: 6556765Abstract: A planar optical attenuator designed as a MEMS structure has a mirror opposite an input and an output waveguide, and a TAB actuator for lateral displacement of the mirror relative to the input port and/or output port. The effective reflectivity of the mirror is variable as a function of the lateral location on the mirror. The optical attenuation is varied by varying the location on the mirror at which the optical beam is reflected.Type: GrantFiled: April 17, 2001Date of Patent: April 29, 2003Assignee: E-Tek Dynamics, Inc.Inventors: Brian Lee Heffner, Gokul Krishnan
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Publication number: 20020150378Abstract: A planar optical attenuator designed as a MEMS structure has a mirror opposite an input and an output waveguide, and a TAB actuator for lateral displacement of the mirror relative to the input port and/or output port. The effective reflectivity of the mirror is variable as a function of the lateral location on the mirror. The optical attenuation is varied by varying the location on the mirror at which the optical beam is reflected.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 17, 2001Publication date: October 17, 2002Applicant: E-Tek Dynamics, Inc.Inventors: Brian Lee Heffner, Gokul Krishnan
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Publication number: 20020149850Abstract: A tunable optical notch filter employing a Fabry-Perot etalon has a first partially reflective mirror and a second mirror with variable effective reflectivity. Both the gap of the etalon and the effective reflectivity of the second mirror can be controlled, e.g. by TAB actuators, enabling a control of the central wavelength and the depth (loss) of the notch of the spectral response of the filter.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 17, 2001Publication date: October 17, 2002Applicant: E-Tek Dynamics, Inc.Inventors: Brian Lee Heffner, Gokul Krishnan
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Publication number: 20020067887Abstract: A dynamic gain flattening filter is provided that offers a smooth spectral response. The filter includes an input/output port for launching a beam of light, a dispersive element for dispersing the beam of light into a plurality of monochromatic sub-beams of light, and discrete array of controllable elements for receiving the plurality of sub-beams of light. The filter is designed such that each sub-beam of light is incident on more than one element of the discrete array for selective attenuation before being recombined by the dispersive element and redirected back to the input/output port. In another embodiment, a beam-folding mirror is provided to direct the attenuated beam to a separate output port.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 4, 2000Publication date: June 6, 2002Inventors: W. John Tomlinson, Valentine N. Morozov, Yevgeniy Churin, Brian Lee Heffner, Long Yang, Jinxi Shen