Abstract: A computer system and method provide a CAD tool by which application specific optical integrated circuits may be easily and quickly designed. The computer system has a graphical user interface which provides the designer with an empty canvas upon which the user may place selected icons of any one of a plurality of optical devices. The designer can select from any one of a number of interconnects to place an icon of the selected interconnect between two of the optical devices. The characteristics of each optical device or interconnect may be varied from default settings to a desired group of settings. To verify the operation of a designed circuit, the user simply clicks each icon along an optical path and the computer system provides a spectral analysis of optical power versus wavelength for the defied optical path. The user can also design optical chips by selecting and placing end ports into an optical circuit and can then clump or group the entire optical circuit into a single icon representing the chip.

Abstract: A computer system and method provide a CAD tool by which a mask for an application specific optical integrated circuit, chip, or wafer may be generated both easily and quickly. The method involves the step of receiving the design for an optical circuit with the circuit design including at least one optical component. Each optical component in the optical circuit is defined by one or more geometric shapes, such as a trapezoid, rectangle, or an arcuate polygon. The method further includes the step of retrieving parameters which define the manufacturing standard by which the optical circuit will be fabricated as well as parameters which define the optical components in the optical circuit. Based on the parameters and the geometric shapes, a plot is generated which forms a mask layout for the optical circuit. The mask layout can then be viewed by a graphical editor whereby a designer can receive visual confirmation that the mask layout accurately portrays the desired optical circuit, chip, or wafer.

Abstract: An optical communication cable comprises one or more cores of light-transmitting optical fibers substantially decoupled mechanically from the rest of the cable structure. Surrounding each core is an inner jacket which forms a loose-fittng enveloping structure about the core. Surrounding the inner jacket or plurality of inner jackets is an outer jacket which is reinforced with primary strength members to carry expected tensile loads and to thereby relieve the fibers of the core or cores as cable strength members. The core fibers are also buckled into a slackened state under no-load conditions to allow for stress-free elongation of the core fibers during tensile pulling of the cable. In one embodiment, each core comprises linear arrays of optical fibers packaged in a plurality of ribbon structures which are stacked and helically stranded for further strain-relief. The arrays are specifically configured to permit mass cable splicing.

Abstract: The transmission members of a communications cable are effectively rearranged in their relative locations within a cable core of predetermined end array configuration, by assigning all defective members to a designated small area of the end configuration. As a result, when gang type connectors are applied at the cable core ends preparatory to straight-through splicing, the defective members are all relegated to a designated, fixed end region of the connector. When several such cables are spliced together, the defective members occasion a minimum of transmission path disabling, because they are largely connected to each other instead of being distributed throughout the entire cable cross section where their potential disabling impact would be proliferated. The approach is particularly advantageous for mitigating transmission path disabling in optical fiber cables in which the core consists of several stacked multi-fiber ribbons.