Methods and apparatus for optical fiber systems
First Claim
1. A method of withdrawing an optical signal from a core of an optical fiber, the fiber comprising the core, a cladding, and a buffer, comprising the steps of:
- bending a portion of the optical fiber about a bend radius sufficiently small such that core light can be withdrawn from the fiber core at the bent fiber portion by using an optical coupler;
withdrawing part of the optical signal from the optical fiber core through the buffer and into the optical coupler at the bent fiber portion; and
detecting the withdrawn optical signal part.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods, apparatus and articles for systems comprising optical fibers, in particular for feeding an optical signal into an optical fiber through the buffer thereof and for withdrawing an optical signal from an optical fiber through the buffer thereof. Preferably this is achieved with the aid of an optical coupling means which contacts and conforms to the surface of the buffer at a bent portion of the fiber. The coupling means can for example be a resiliently deformable material such as a polysiloxane. In a preferred aspect, the invention provides an apparatus and method for axially aligning, and preferably joining, the ends of optical fibers. The apparatus comprises means for holding two fibers so that the fiber ends are approximately abutting and axially aligned, adjacent means for passing an optical signal into one of the fibers through the buffer thereof, and adjacent means for withdrawing that signal from the other fiber through the buffer thereof. At least one of the holding means is movable to maximize the withdrawn optical signal and thus to align the fibers. The invention also includes novel splices which can be made in this way and novel splicing aids for use in the method.
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Citations
34 Claims
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1. A method of withdrawing an optical signal from a core of an optical fiber, the fiber comprising the core, a cladding, and a buffer, comprising the steps of:
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bending a portion of the optical fiber about a bend radius sufficiently small such that core light can be withdrawn from the fiber core at the bent fiber portion by using an optical coupler; withdrawing part of the optical signal from the optical fiber core through the buffer and into the optical coupler at the bent fiber portion; and detecting the withdrawn optical signal part. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method of feeding an optical signal into a core of an optical fiber, comprising the steps of:
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bending a portion of the optical fiber having a core, a cladding, and a buffer at the bent portion about a radius small enough such that an optical signal can be fed into the core as a guided mode by passing through the buffer and cladding at the bent fiber portion; and directing the optical signal within an optical coupler and into the optical fiber such that the optical signal passes through the buffer and the cladding and then into the optical fiber core as a core guided signal at the bent portion of the optical fiber. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. An apparatus for withdrawing an optical signal from a core of an optical fiber, comprising:
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an optical fiber comprising a core, a cladding, and a buffer at a fiber section where an optical signal is to be withdrawn; an optical coupler; means for bending the section of the optical fiber against the optical coupler about a radius small enough such that part of the optical signal guided by the core of the optical fiber is withdrawn from the core so as to pass through the cladding and the buffer and into the optical coupler; and
means for detecting the withdrawn optical signal part. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. An apparatus for feeding an optical signal into a core of an optical fiber, comprising:
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an optical fiber including a core, a cladding, and a buffer at a fiber section where an optical signal is to be fed into the fiber core as a guided mode, the buffer having a refractive index greater than the cladding; an optical coupler; means for generating the optical signal; and means for bending the optical fiber section against the optical coupler about a radius small enough such that the optical signal passes through the optical coupler, the buffer, the cladding, and into the optical fiber core as a guided signal. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34)
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Specification