Apparatus and methods for stabilization and control of fiber devices and fiber devices including the same

• US 20050129365A1
• Filed: 01/21/2005
• Published: 06/16/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/25/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alan E. Johnson, Anders Grunnet-Jepsen, John N. Sweetser, Matthew Miller, Tsung-Ein Tsai
• Original Assignee: Alan E. Johnson, Anders Grunnet-Jepsen, John N. Sweetser, Matthew Miller, Tsung-Ein Tsai
• Inventors: Miller, Matthew, Grunnet-Jepsen, Anders, Johnson, Alan E., Tsai, Tsung-Ein, Sweetser, John N.
• Granted Patent: US 7,164,478 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 385/37
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 5/35316 using a Bragg gratings
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/0218 using mounting means, e.g. by using a combination of materials having different thermal expansion coefficients
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/022 using mechanical stress, e.g. tuning by compression or elongation, special geometrical shapes such as "dog-bone" or taper G02B6/02204 takes precedence; optical modulation using photo-elastic effect G02F1/0131
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/02204 using thermal effects, e.g. heating or cooling of a temperature sensitive mounting body optical modulation using thermo-optic effect G02F1/0147

Abstract

A mounting platform provides support and packaging for one or more fiber Bragg gratings and electronic circuitry (e.g., heaters, coolers, piezoelectric strain providers, temperature and strain sensors, feedback circuitry, control loops), which may be printed on or on the mounting platform, embedded in the mounting platform, or may be an “off-board” chip solution (e.g., the electronic circuitry may be attached to the mounting platform, but not formed on or defined on the mounting platform). The fiber Bragg gratings are held in close proximity to the electronic circuitry, which applies local and global temperature and/or strain variations to the fiber Bragg gratings to, for example, stabilize and/or tune spectral properties of the fiber Bragg gratings so that spatial variations in the fiber Bragg gratings that result from processing and manufacturing fluctuations and tolerances can be compensated for.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

an input port and an output port disposed on a substrate;

a splitter/coupler disposed on the substrate and operationally coupled to the input port and output port;

a first leg of a fiber Bragg grating-based Michelson interferometer disposed on the substrate and coupled to the splitter/coupler, a first set of control elements operationally coupled to the first leg; and

a second leg of the fiber Bragg grating-based Michelson interferometer disposed on the substrate and coupled to the splitter/coupler, second set of control elements operationally coupled to the second leg.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the first or second sets of control elements comprises circuitry to control spectral characteristics of the first or second legs, respectively.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the first and second sets of control elements comprises circuitry to control optical delay between the first leg and the second leg.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the first or second sets of control elements comprises at least one of a sensor, transducer, or feedback circuitry.

5. The system of claim 2, wherein the first or second sets of control elements comprises at least one of a sensor, transducer, or feedback circuitry.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the substrate comprises a flip-chip substrate.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the substrate comprises a laminated mounting structure.

8. A system, comprising:

an input port, an add port, a drop port, and an output port each disposed on a substrate;

a first splitter/coupler disposed on the substrate and operationally coupled to the input port and drop port;

a second splitter/coupler disposed on the substrate and operationally coupled to the add port and output port

a first leg and a second leg of a fiber Bragg grating-based Mach-Zehnder interferometer disposed on the substrate and coupled between the first and second splitter/couplers; and

a first set and a second set of control elements operationally coupled to the first and second legs, respectively.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the first or second sets of control elements comprises circuitry to control spectral characteristics of the first or second legs, respectively.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the first and second sets of control elements comprises circuitry to control optical delay between the first leg and the second leg.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the first or second sets of control elements comprises at least one of a sensor, transducer, and/or feedback circuitry.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the first or second sets of control elements comprises at least one of a sensor, transducer, and/or feedback circuitry.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the substrate comprises a flip-chip substrate.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the substrate comprises a laminated mounting structure.

15. A method, comprising:

receiving light at an input port of an interferometer disposed in or on a substrate;

splitting the light into a first portion and a second portion using a splitter disposed in or on the substrate, the first and the second portions being substantially equal to each other; and

controlling an optical delay of the first and/or the second portions of light using a first and/or a second control element, respectively, coupled to a first and/or a second fiber Bragg grating, respectively, disposed in or on the substrate in a first and/or a second leg, respectively, of an interferometer.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising reflecting light that is resonant with the first and/or the second fiber Bragg grating back to the input port of the interferometer.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising passing light that is not resonant with the first and/or the second fiber Bragg grating to an output port of the interferometer.