Apparatus and method for measuring wavelength of an optical light

• US 20060114462A1
• Filed: 08/25/2005
• Published: 06/01/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Asia Optical Company Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Asia Optical Company Incorporated
• Inventors: Yi, Chang-fu, Zhou, Mei-feng
• Application Number:
  US11/210,729
• Publication Number:
  US 20060114462A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 356/425
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/0213 using attenuators
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 3/0272 Handheld
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 9/00 Measuring optical phase difference devices or arrangements for controlling the phase of light beams G02F1/01; Determining degree of coherence; Measuring optical wavelength spectrometry G01J3/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01J 9/0246 Measuring optical wavelength

Abstract

A measuring-wavelength apparatus includes a beam splitter (2), a first optical sensor (6), a second optical sensor (7), a signal-attenuation component (5) and a processing unit (8). A measuring-wavelength method comprising: splitting an incoming light into a first beam and a second beam; transforming the first beam into a first output signal; attenuating the second beam by using a signal-attenuation component; transforming the attenuated second beam into a second output signal; calculating a difference between the first and the second output signals to achieve an optical loss of the light; and in view of the optical loss, looking up a reference table to obtain a wavelength of the light.

Claims

1. A measuring-wavelength apparatus comprising:

a beam splitter splitting an incoming light into a first beam and a second beam;

a first optical sensor receiving the first beam from the beam splitter and outputting a first output signal;

a signal-attenuation component receiving and attenuating the second beam;

a second optical sensor receiving the attenuated second beam and outputting a second output signal; and

a processing unit having a reference table which pre-records various optical losses and corresponding wavelengths, in use of calculating a difference between the first and the second output signals to achieve an optical loss of said light, and then transforming the optical loss into the wavelength of the light in view of the reference table.

2. The measuring-wavelength apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the beam splitter is a 50/50 beam splitter for evenly splitting the light into the first and the second beams.

3. The measuring-wavelength apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first beam is broadcasted without attenuation to the first optical sensor.

4. The measuring-wavelength apparatus as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a first optical fiber for interconnecting the first optical sensor with the beam splitter, whereby the first beam is broadcasted to the first optical sensor through the first optical fiber.

5. The measuring-wavelength apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the signal-attenuation component is disposed in an optical path to broadcast the second beam between the beam splitter and the second optical sensor.

6. The measuring-wavelength apparatus as claimed in claim 5 further comprising a second optical fiber for interconnecting the second optical sensor with the beam splitter.

7. The measuring-wavelength apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the signal-attenuation component is arranged on the second optical fiber.

8. The measuring-wavelength apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the signal-attenuation component is an optical fiber coil made by circularizing a part of the second optical fiber.

9. The measuring-wavelength apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the second beam is broadcasted along a single direction with regard to the second optical fibers.

10. The measuring-wavelength apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first and the second optical sensors are optical sensors.

11. The measuring-wavelength apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the first output signal represents the optical power of the first beam, and the second output signal represents the optical power of the attenuated second beam.

12. A measuring-wavelength method comprising:

splitting an incoming light into a first beam and a second beam;

transforming the first beam into a first output signal;

attenuating the second beam by using a signal-attenuation component;

transforming the attenuated second beam into a second output signal;

calculating a difference between the first and the second output signals to achieve an optical loss of said light; and

in view of the optical loss, looking up a reference table to obtain a wavelength of the light.

13. The measuring-wavelength method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the light is evenly split into the first and second beams by a beam splitter.

14. The measuring-wavelength method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the first beam is broadcasted without attenuation to a first optical sensor.

15. The measuring-wavelength method as claimed in claim 14, comprising a first optical fiber for interconnecting the first optical sensor with the beam splitter, whereby the first beam is broadcasted to the first optical sensor through the first optical fiber.

16. The measuring-wavelength method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the attenuated second beam is broadcasted to a second optical sensor, whereby the second optical sensor transforms the attenuated second beam into the second output signal.

17. The measuring-wavelength method as claimed in claim 16, wherein the first and the second optical sensors are photo detectors.

18. The measuring-wavelength method as claimed in claim 16, further comprising a second optical fiber interconnecting the second optical sensor with the beam splitter.

19. The measuring-wavelength method as claimed in claim 18, wherein the second beam is broadcasted along a single direction with regard to the second optical fibers.

20. The measuring-wavelength method as claimed in claim 18, wherein the signal-attenuation component is arranged on the second optical fiber.

21. The measuring-wavelength method as claimed in claim 18, wherein the signal-attenuation component is an optical fiber coil made by circularizing a part of the second optical fiber.

22. The measuring-wavelength method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the first output signal represents the optical power of the light before attenuated, and the second output signal represents the attenuated optical power of the light.

23. The measuring-wavelength method as claimed in claim 12, comprising the step of calculating the difference between the first and the second output signals to obtain the optical loss by a processing unit.

24. The measuring-wavelength method as claimed in claim 23, wherein the reference table is pre-established in a memory controlled by the processing unit and records various optical losses and corresponding wavelengths.

25. A measuring-wavelength apparatus comprising:

a beam splitter splitting an incoming light into a first beam and a second beam;

a first optical sensor receiving the first beam from the beam splitter and emitting a first output signal;

a signal-attenuation component receiving and attenuating the second beam;

a second optical sensor receiving the attenuated second beam and emitting a second output signal;

a processing unit receiving the first and the second output signals, calculating a difference between the first and the second output signals to achieve an optical loss of the light; and

a reference table recording various optical losses and corresponding wavelengths.

26. The measuring-wavelength apparatus as claimed in claim 25, wherein the processing unit is realized with a subtracter.

27. The measuring-wavelength apparatus as claimed in claim 26, wherein the reference table can be manually looked up by the user, thereby obtaining the wavelength of the light.