Precision deformation mechanism and method
First Claim
1. A deformation mechanism, comprising:
- a base member,an upper member joined to said base member at two places that normally keeps said members from moving relative to each other between said places, said upper member having a deformable portion between said places, andan extendible and retractable element mounted between said base member and said deformable portion of said upper member, such that when extended or retracted said element exerts an applied force on both of said members, said force causing said upper member to deform such that an optical fiber mounted in tight contact with said upper member along the length of said deformable portion is precisely stretched or compressed and its length thereby varied.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A simple, low-cost deformation mechanism and method produces submicrometer increments of motion, to precisely stretch and compress fibers containing optical gratings in order to achieve a desired length and period. Such a "tunable" fiber can be used to, for example, produce an optical filter or to "match" two fiber lasers, thus enabling their use in a coherent detection system. Two beams, parallel to and opposing each other, are joined at two places. A screw is positioned between the beams such that a force is exerted on both beams simultaneously when the screw is rotated, deforming both beams. Motion reduction is provided by sharing the screw'"'"'s movement between the two beams, and is further enhanced by making one beam thicker than the other. Two fibers are secured into grooves provided on one of the beams. By rotating the screw to increase or decrease the deformation, the fibers and their respective gratings are stretched or compressed. Because the grooves are at different distances from the point where force is applied, the two fibers are subjected to different amounts of deformation as the screw is turned. When the fibers are used as lasers, the difference in the frequencies of the two lasers can be adjusted with the mechanism, and reduced to within the bandwidth of a photodetector. Once "matched," the fiber lasers and the mechanism can be used in a coherent detection system.
58 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A deformation mechanism, comprising:
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a base member, an upper member joined to said base member at two places that normally keeps said members from moving relative to each other between said places, said upper member having a deformable portion between said places, and an extendible and retractable element mounted between said base member and said deformable portion of said upper member, such that when extended or retracted said element exerts an applied force on both of said members, said force causing said upper member to deform such that an optical fiber mounted in tight contact with said upper member along the length of said deformable portion is precisely stretched or compressed and its length thereby varied. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A deformation mechanism for optical fiber length adjustment , comprising:
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a base member, an upper member joined to said base member at two places, said upper member being a first deformable beam and said base member being a second deformable beam, and an extendible and retractable element mounted between said first and second beams such that when extended or retracted said element exerts force simultaneously on both beams and causes both to deform, said deformation of said second beam absorbing some of said element'"'"'s movement and reducing the amount of deformation of said first beam for a given amount of element movement, said reduced deformation tending to improve the precision with which said deformation of said first beam can be controlled. - View Dependent Claims (7)
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8. An optical fiber length adjustment mechanism, comprising:
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a first beam, a second beam joined to said first beam at two places, both beams being deformable between said places, said beams forming two parallel opposing beams, and an extendible and retractable element mounted between said first and second beams and between said places, said element exerting force on both of said beams simultaneously such that when extended or retracted said force is respectively increased or decreased on said beams, said force causing both of said beams to deform between said places, whereby said deformation is shared between the two beams such that the deformation of said second beam reduces the amount by which said first beam deforms for a given force, and one or more optical fibers mounted in tight contact to one of said beams, said fibers each containing one or more optical gratings, said fibers positioned on said beam such that said deformation causes the length of each fiber and the period of each grating to change. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A coherent detection system, comprising:
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a precision deformation mechanism including two parallel opposing beams, an extendible and retractable element mounted between said beams, said element exerting force on both of said beams simultaneously such that when extended or retracted said force on said beams is respectively increased or decreased, said force causing said beams to deform, two fiber lasers mounted in tight contact to one of said beams, said lasers each containing one or more optical gratings which determine the frequency of light produced by their respective lasers, whereby the deformation of the beam which said lasers are mounted to causes the period of said gratings and thereby the frequency of said produced light to change, an optical light source connected to each fiber laser, for pumping said lasers and causing said lasers to produce light, a coupling device for combining the light produced by both fiber lasers, said coupling device producing an optical output signal, and a photodetector, for mixing said optical output signal from said coupling device and producing an electrical output that varies with the difference between the frequencies of the light produced by said lasers, said difference in frequencies reduced by extending or retracting said element to adjust said deformation. - View Dependent Claims (19)
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20. A method of adjusting the periods of optical gratings contained in respective fibers, comprising the steps of:
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securing two or more fibers to a first beam, each fiber containing one or more optical gratings with each grating having a respective period, deforming said first beam, and monitoring the periods of said gratings while deforming said first beam until said gratings have a desired period. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23)
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24. A method of adjusting the periods of optical gratings contained in respective optical fibers, comprising the steps of:
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securing two or more optical fibers to a first beam, each fiber containing one or more optical gratings with each grating having a respective period, said first beam joined to a second beam parallel to and opposing said first beam, applying a force to both beams simultaneously to achieve a reduced deformation of said first beam for a given force, for providing precise control of the deformation of said first beam.
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Specification