Optical systems with antireciprocal polarization rotators
First Claim
1. An optical system, comprising:
- a source of electromagnetic radiation;
a component of said system, capable of optical communication with said source, serving to transmit or reflect at least a portion of the electromagnetic radiation emitted by said source; and
a substantially antireciprocal polarization rotator, capable of optical communication with said source and said component, characterized in thatsaid polarization rotator includes two or more regions which are capable of subjecting electromagnetic radiation emitted by said source to elliptic birefringences, the sign and/or magnitude of the linear, or the sign and/or magnitude of the circular, components of said elliptic birefringences differing from region to region, and the length of each region, with the exception of either the first or last reigon, being substantially equal to one half the birefringent period of the region, the length of the first or last region being substantially equal to one quarter the birefringent period of the first or last region.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An optical system, e.g., an optical fiber communication system or an optical mass storage device, which includes a linearly birefringent polarization rotator useful in an optical isolator or optical circulator, is disclosed. The rotator, which compensates for the effects of linear birefringence and is substantially antireciprocal, includes two or more material regions which are capable of subjecting incident light to elliptic birefringences. However, the sign and/or magnitude of the linear, or the sign and/or magnitude of the circular, components of the elliptic birefringences differ from region to region. Moreover, the length of each region, except the first or last region, is substantially equal to one-half the birefringent period of the region. The length of the first or last region, by contrast, is substantially equal to one-quarter the birefringent period of the region.
22 Citations
13 Claims
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1. An optical system, comprising:
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a source of electromagnetic radiation; a component of said system, capable of optical communication with said source, serving to transmit or reflect at least a portion of the electromagnetic radiation emitted by said source; and a substantially antireciprocal polarization rotator, capable of optical communication with said source and said component, characterized in that said polarization rotator includes two or more regions which are capable of subjecting electromagnetic radiation emitted by said source to elliptic birefringences, the sign and/or magnitude of the linear, or the sign and/or magnitude of the circular, components of said elliptic birefringences differing from region to region, and the length of each region, with the exception of either the first or last reigon, being substantially equal to one half the birefringent period of the region, the length of the first or last region being substantially equal to one quarter the birefringent period of the first or last region. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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Specification