Abstract: An fiber optic splice having substantially enhanced reliability and broadened operating temperature range uses a light-cured index matching fluid to splice the facing ends of the optical fibers in between two metallic tubes forming a leak-tight, thermally insulating, and mechanically robust outer package.

Abstract: A packaging method and apparatus that improve the yield and reliability of multi-port fiber optical devices are disclosed. The method utilizes a flexible metallic connection between a solid frame holding input and output optics (including fibers, collimators) and the main body of an optical device. Optical alignment and realignment are accomplished following the soldering and/or hermetically sealing of the entire package. A flexible connection is made with permeable material that has minimum stress memory associated with realignments and can tolerate repeated adjustment or realignment without becoming structurally unsound.

Abstract: A combination comprising a cascade of several optical devices with a low overall insertion loss, is disclosed. This arrangement can be used in many applications in the new technology area of dense wavelength division multiplexing. Specifically, this cascade arrangement can be used to fabricate compact, multichannel filter devices, dispersion compensators and other useful devices. Various embodiments are disclosed. In one embodiment, a 45-degree Faraday rotator is combined with another optical element. In another embodiment, a cascade of three optical devices is employed. Central to this is cascade is a cubic polarizing beam splitter (PBS) with four optical surfaces. In yet another embodiment, a cascade of five optical devices is described. Central to this cascade is an elongated polarizing beam splitter with six areas for optical coupling. This elongated PBS functions as a superposition of two cubic PBS. Various embodiments of the elongated PBS are also described.

Abstract: A packaging method and apparatus that improve the yield and reliability of multi-port fiber optical devices are disclosed. The method utilizes a flexible metallic connection between a solid frame holding input and output optics (including fibers, collimators) and the main body of an optical device. Optical alignment and realignment are accomplished following the soldering and/or hermetically sealing of the entire package. A flexible connection is made with permeable material that has minimum stress memory associated with realignments and can tolerate repeated adjustment or realignment without becoming structurally unsound.

Abstract: A versatile, wavelength-slicing methodology, referred to herein as spectrum division multiplexing (SDM), provides new avenues and technologies for optical communication applications. Specifically, SDM separates a composed optical signal into a group of output spectra. Each output spectrum carries a multiple of optical communication signal channels. The bandwidth of each channel and spacing between adjacent channels may differ from one output spectrum to another. A critical building block of SDM technology is a spectrum filter with periodic passbands, referred to herein as an optical spectrum synthesizer (OSS). The cascade of OSS devices, the combinations of OSS with prior art components and modules, and other new devices to be used in conjunction with OSS, lead to new spectrum devices that add new dimensions to existing and new optical network architectures. The invention of OSS leads to new Spectrum Division Multiplexing and management devices based on cascading OSS devices.

Abstract: An optical interleaver comprising: an interferometer which includes a coupler, a first phase shifter and a combiner; wherein the coupler splits incident light into a first light beam and a second light beam and couples the first light beam and the second light beam to the first phase shifter; wherein the first phase shifter includes a first light propagation element that propagates the first light beam along a first path between the coupler and the combiner and that includes a second light propagation element that propagates the second light beam along a second path between the coupler and the combiner, the first and second paths having different path lengths that contribute to a phase shift between light of the first light beam propagated along the first path and light of the second light beam propagated along the second path; wherein the combiner couples the first light beam with and the second light beam; a second phase shifter which receives first light beam light propagated along the first path between t

Abstract: An optical filtering assembly used in temperature compensated multi-port filtering or isolating packages is described. The optical path comprises multiple optical glass fibers inserted into a multi-capillary glass ferrule to produce a fiber-ferrule subassembly, a collimating lens, at least one spectral shaping glass filter and a reflecting element assembly. The collimating lens collimates the light emitted from the input optical fiber into parallel rays, which hit the filter element. Each filter splits the collimated light into two beams. The first (transmitted) beam is spectrally modified as it passes through the filter element, then reflects off the reflecting element traveling back through the same filter element, again spectrally modifying the transmitted beam. Then the beam passes back through the collimating lens in the opposite direction, and couples into the pass band fiber. The second reflective beam is reflected from the filter element through the lens into the reflective optical fiber.

Abstract: Phase and free spectra range adjustable reflectors, referred to herein as nano tuner (NanoT) reflectors, provide building blocks for the manufacturing of passive and active devices used for dense wavelength division multiplexing applications. Specifically, NanoT can be used to fabricate interleavers, multichannel filters and dispersion compensators, optical spectrum synthesizers and other valuable devices. Various embodiments are disclosed. Each provides at least one hermetically sealed optical cavity connected to a tuning device through a channel. The tuning device permits modification to the density of an optical medium contained in the cavity. In the preferred embodiments disclosed, the optical medium comprises one or more selected gases which determine the index of refraction in the cavity. The cavity is formed between two optical windows having facing surfaces coated by partially or wholly reflective coatings. The facing surfaces are separated by a selected distance by a precise spacer.

Abstract: A versatile, wavelength-slicing device, referred to herein as an optical spectrum synthesizer (OSS), provides new avenues and technologies for optical communication applications. Specifically, OSS separates a composed optical signal into two output spectra. Each output spectrum carries a multiple of optical communication signal channels. The bandwidth of each channel and spacing between adjacent channels may differ from one output to the other. The cascades of OSS devices, the combinations of OSS with prior art components and modules, and other new devices to be used in conjunction with OSS lead to new Spectrum Devices that add new dimensions to existing and new optical network architectures. The invention of OSS leads to new Spectrum Wavelength Division Multiplexing and management devices based on cascades of OSS devices. Examples of these devices include Spectrum Multiplexer, Spectrum Demultiplexer and Spectrum Add Drop Module.