Optical fiber laser or amplifier including high reflectivity gratings
First Claim
1. Apparatus comprising an optical device that comprisesa) a length of optical fiber;
- b) means for introducing pump radiation of wavelength λ
p into said length of optical fiber;
c) spaced-apart reflector means that define an optical cavity for radiation of a predetermined wavelength, with the cavity comprising at least a portion of the length of optical fiber;
wherein the device is adapted for emission of radiation of wavelength λ
s ≠
λ
p from said length of optical fiber;
characterized in thatd) the pump radiation is continuous wave radiation;
e) the reflector means comprise at least two pairs of reflectors, associated with each of said reflectors is a center wavelength of a reflection band, the two reflectors of a given pair have essentially the same center wavelength and are spaced apart, such that the reflectors of the given pair define an optical cavity for radiation of wavelength equal to said center wavelength of the reflectors of the given pair; and
f) associated with said given optical cavity is an added round trip loss for radiation of wavelength equal to said center wavelength, said added round trip loss being at most 1.5 dB.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Novel optical fiber devices (amplifiers and lasers) are disclosed. The devices comprise one or more optical "cavities", depending on the type of device. The cavities typically are formed by means of in-line refractive index gratings in a length of silica-based optical fiber. The gratings typically have peak reflectivity of at least 98%. Use of such cavities enables CW pumping of the devices, making the devices suitable for use in optical fiber communication systems. In an exemplary embodiment the device is a Raman amplifier for 1.3 μm signal radiation, and in another exemplary embodiment the device is a Raman laser having an output suitable for pumping an Er-doped fiber amplifier. An exemplary pump radiation source is a laser diode-pumped CW Nd:YAG laser.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. Apparatus comprising an optical device that comprises
a) a length of optical fiber; -
b) means for introducing pump radiation of wavelength λ
p into said length of optical fiber;c) spaced-apart reflector means that define an optical cavity for radiation of a predetermined wavelength, with the cavity comprising at least a portion of the length of optical fiber;
wherein the device is adapted for emission of radiation of wavelength λ
s ≠
λ
p from said length of optical fiber;characterized in that d) the pump radiation is continuous wave radiation; e) the reflector means comprise at least two pairs of reflectors, associated with each of said reflectors is a center wavelength of a reflection band, the two reflectors of a given pair have essentially the same center wavelength and are spaced apart, such that the reflectors of the given pair define an optical cavity for radiation of wavelength equal to said center wavelength of the reflectors of the given pair; and f) associated with said given optical cavity is an added round trip loss for radiation of wavelength equal to said center wavelength, said added round trip loss being at most 1.5 dB. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. Apparatus comprising an optical device that comprises
a) a length of optical fiber; -
b) means for introducing pump radiation of wavelength λ
p into said length of optical fiber;c) spaced-apart reflector means that define an optical cavity for radiation of a predetermined wavelength, with the cavity comprising at least a portion of the length of optical fiber;
wherein the device is adapted for emission of radiation of wavelength λ
s ≠
λ
p from said length of optical fiber;characterized in that d) the pump radiation is continuous wave radiation; e) the reflector means comprise at least one pair of reflectors, associated with each of said reflectors being a center wavelength of a reflection band and a peak reflectivity, with the two reflectors of the at least one pair having essentially the same center wavelength and being spaced apart, such that the reflectors of the at least one pair define an optical cavity for radiation of wavelength equal to said center wavelength of the reflectors of the at least one pair, each of the two reflectors of the at least one pair having a peak reflectivity of at least 98%; f) associated with said given optical cavity is an added round trip loss for radiation of wavelength equal to said center wavelength, said added round trip loss being at most 1.5 dB; and g) said center wavelength is less than λ
p. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification