Patents by Inventor Donald B. Keck

Donald B. Keck 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).

  • Patent number: 4395270
    Abstract: A method of making a glass optical fiber having a core surrounded by cladding containing diametrically opposed regions of different TCE than the cladding. Three manufacturing techniques are disclosed. (1) A first glass rod having core and cladding glass is placed centrally in a glass tube. Rods of glass having a TCE different from that of the cladding glass are put on opposite sides of the first rod. Rods of cladding glass are placed in the interstices. (2) A soot preform is deposited on a rotating mandrel. In one embodiment, mandrel rotation is halted to deposit one longitudinally extending region and then rotated 180.degree. to deposit the other such region. In a modified embodiment the mandrel continuously rotates and the deposition burner is continuously supplied with reactant gas for forming a base glass and is also provided with pulses of a reactant gas for modifying the base glass to form the diametrically opposed regions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 1981
    Date of Patent: July 26, 1983
    Assignee: Corning Glass Works
    Inventors: Michael G. Blankenship, Donald B. Keck
  • Patent number: 4360371
    Abstract: A single mode optical waveguide is fabricated in a manner such that the core thereof is subjected to a stress-induced birefringence. A hollow intermediate product is formed by depositing layers of cladding and core glass on the inner surface of a substrate tube. Opposite sides of the intermediate product are heated to cause it to collapse into a solid preform foreproduct having an oblong cross-section. A layer of flame hydrolysis-produced soot having a circular outer surface is deposited on the preform foreproduct and is consolidated to form a dense glass cladding layer thereon. The TCE of the outer cladding layer is different from that of the preform foreproduct on which it is deposited so that when the resultant preform is drawn into a fiber, a stress-induced birefringence exists in the core.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 1981
    Date of Patent: November 23, 1982
    Assignee: Corning Glass Works
    Inventors: Michael G. Blankenship, Donald B. Keck, Arnab Sarkar
  • Patent number: 4236786
    Abstract: Coupling among discrete propagation modes of light energy is achieved by providing perturbations of finite length in an optical waveguide. An optimal function characterizing the perturbation is disclosed along with a method of implementing the function to obtain uniform coupling strength over a desired range of modes.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 1978
    Date of Patent: December 2, 1980
    Assignee: Corning Glass Works
    Inventor: Donald B. Keck
  • Patent number: 3934061
    Abstract: A method of producing a planar optical waveguide by applying to at least a portion of one flat surface of a substantially flat glass substrate having a predetermined desired index of refraction a first coating of glass having an index of refraction greater than that of said glass substrate. Thereafter a second coating of glass having an index of refraction less than that of the first coating of glass is applied over the exposed surface of the first coating of glass. The thickness of the first coating of glass being determined as a function of the highest mode order and the wavelength of light to be propagated within a waveguide having infinite width, and the indices of refraction of the substrate and each of the applied coatings.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 18, 1973
    Date of Patent: January 20, 1976
    Assignee: Corning Glass Works
    Inventors: Donald B. Keck, Peter C. Schultz