Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention are generally related to a high-power liquid-cooled pump and signal combiner and methods thereof for fiber optic applications. More specifically, embodiments of the present invention relate to a pump and signal combiner capable of conveying several kilowatts of pump laser power for kilowatt class rare-earth doped fiber amplifiers without suffering thermal damage. In one embodiment of the present invention, a high-power, heat dissipating optical fiber device comprises a section of optical fiber configured to propagate light, a cooling chamber, substantially encapsulating the optical fiber, and a fluid within the cooling chamber having a refractive index selected to control the interaction and propagation of the light in the fluid.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention are generally related to a high-power liquid-cooled pump and signal combiner and methods thereof for fiber optic applications. More specifically, embodiments of the present invention relate to a pump and signal combiner capable of conveying several kilowatts of pump laser power for kilowatt class rare-earth doped fiber amplifiers without suffering thermal damage. In one embodiment of the present invention, a high-power, heat dissipating optical fiber device comprises a section of optical fiber configured to propagate light, a cooling chamber, substantially encapsulating the optical fiber, and a fluid within the cooling chamber having a refractive index selected to control the interaction and propagation of the light in the fluid.

Abstract: An optical transmission fiber is formed to include a relatively low-index, relatively thin outer cladding layer disposed underneath the protective polymer outer coating. Stray light propagating along an inner cladding layer(s) within the fiber will be refracted into the thin outer cladding (by proper selection of refractive index values). The thin dimension of the outer cladding layer allows for the stray light to “leak” into the outer coating in a controlled, gradual manner so as to minimize heating of the coating associated with the presence of stray light. The inventive fiber may also be bent to assist in the movement of stray light into the coating.

Abstract: An optical transmission fiber is formed to include a relatively low-index, relatively thin outer cladding layer disposed underneath the protective polymer outer coating. Stray light propagating along an inner cladding layer(s) within the fiber will be refracted into the thin outer cladding (by proper selection of refractive index values). The thin dimension of the outer cladding layer allows for the stray light to “leak” into the outer coating in a controlled, gradual manner so as to minimize heating of the coating associated with the presence of stray light. The inventive fiber may also be bent to assist in the movement of stray light into the coating.

Abstract: An optical transmission fiber is formed to include a relatively low-index, relatively thin outer cladding layer disposed underneath the protective polymer outer coating. Stray light propagating along an inner cladding layer(s) within the fiber will be refracted into the thin outer cladding (by proper selection of refractive index values). The thin dimension of the outer cladding layer allows for the stray light to “leak” into the outer coating in a controlled, gradual manner so as to minimize heating of the coating associated with the presence of stray light. The inventive fiber may also be bent to assist in the movement of stray light into the coating.

Abstract: An optical transmission fiber is formed to include a relatively low-index, relatively thin outer cladding layer disposed underneath the protective polymer outer coating. Stray light propagating along an inner cladding layer(s) within the fiber will be refracted into the thin outer cladding (by proper selection of refractive index values). The thin dimension of the outer cladding layer allows for the stray light to “leak” into the outer coating in a controlled, gradual manner so as to minimize heating of the coating associated with the presence of stray light. The inventive fiber may also be bent to assist in the movement of stray light into the coating.

Abstract: An optical transmission fiber is formed to include a relatively low-index, relatively thin outer cladding layer disposed underneath the protective polymer outer coating. Stray light propagating along an inner cladding layer(s) within the fiber will be refracted into the thin outer cladding (by proper selection of refractive index values). The thin dimension of the outer cladding layer allows for the stray light to “leak” into the outer coating in a controlled, gradual manner so as to minimize heating of the coating associated with the presence of stray light. The inventive fiber may also be bent to assist in the movement of stray light into the coating.

Abstract: An optical transmission fiber is formed to include a relatively low-index, relatively thin outer cladding layer disposed underneath the protective polymer outer coating. Stray light propagating along an inner cladding layer(s) within the fiber will be refracted into the thin outer cladding (by proper selection of refractive index values). The thin dimension of the outer cladding layer allows for the stray light to “leak” into the outer coating in a controlled, gradual manner so as to minimize heating of the coating associated with the presence of stray light. The inventive fiber may also be bent to assist in the movement of stray light into the coating.

Abstract: A tapered fiber bundle is formed by first etching the end portions of each fiber within the group so as to remove a selected amount of outer cladding material from each fiber. The assembled, etched fibers are then fused together in conventional fashion to form a fiber bundle. By first etching the fibers to form a “tapered” structure, the core diameter of the tapered fiber bundle remains intact; in the prior art, the tapering process of drawing down the fused collection of fibers would reduce the core diameter. Preferably, the outer cladding of the central single mode fiber is modified to exhibit the same etch rate as the outer cladding layer of the remaining fibers.

Abstract: An optical performance monitor particularly well-suited for use in dense wavelength-division multiplexed (DWDM) systems includes both a nonlinear optical detector and a conventional linear detector. The nonlinear optical detector, which may comprise a quadratic detector, is used to provide information, on a channel-by-channel basis, regarding chromatic dispersion, polarization mode dispersion and accumulated amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) noise in each signal wavelength.

Abstract: A tapered fiber bundle is formed by first etching the end portions of each fiber within the group so as to remove a selected amount of outer cladding material from each fiber. The assembled, etched fibers are then fused together in conventional fashion to form a fiber bundle. By first etching the fibers to form a “tapered” structure, the core diameter of the tapered fiber bundle remains intact; in the prior art, the tapering process of drawing down the fused collection of fibers would reduce the core diameter. Preferably, the outer cladding of the central single mode fiber is modified to exhibit the same etch rate as the outer cladding layer of the remaining fibers.

Abstract: An optical performance monitor particularly well-suited for use in dense wavelength-division multiplexed (DWDM) systems includes both a nonlinear optical detector and a conventional linear detector. The nonlinear optical detector, which may comprise a quadratic detector, is used to provide information, on a channel-by-channel basis, regarding chromatic dispersion, polarization mode dispersion and accumulated amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) noise in each signal wavelength.

Abstract: An automatically adjustable arrangement for tuning the accumulated chromatic dispersion present in an optical communication system uses a dispersion variation-based measuring arrangement to determine both the magnitude and sign of the accumulated dispersion. A relatively small portion of a received optical signal including an unknown amount of chromatic dispersion is tapped off at an optical receiver and a small amount of additional dispersion is added to the tapped-off signal so that nonlinear detection can be used to determine both the magnitude and sign of the dispersion present in the transmission signal. This information is then fed back to a tunable dispersion compensator to provide the real-time, automatic correction to the dispersion present in the system.