System and method for direct measurement of alignment error in a fiber coupler

• US 6,188,472 B1
• Filed: 04/16/1999
• Issued: 02/13/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 04/17/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Coherent Inc (Coherent Corp.)
• Original Assignee: iolon, Inc. (Coherent Corp.)
• Inventors: Gerber, Ronald E., Hurst, Jerry E. Jr., Gage, Edward C., Belser, Karl A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Font, Frank G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Tu T.
• Application Number:
  US09/293,444
• Time in Patent Office: 669 Days
• Field of Search: 356/73.1, 356/399-401, 356/153, 385/88-94, 385/14, 385/24, 385/147, 385/33-35
• US Class Current: 356/73.1
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/3512 the optical element being reflective, e.g. mirror
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/3548 1xN switch, i.e. one input and a selectable single output of N possible outputs
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/3588 of the processed beams, i.e. controlling during switching of orientation, alignment, or beam propagation properties such as intensity, size or shape
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/4227 Active alignment methods, e.g. procedures and algorithms
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 7/1384 Fibre optics

Abstract

A system and method for directly measuring the alignment error in a fiber-optic coupler is disclosed. In one embodiment, an optical switch utilizes a beam deflection mirror. When the beam deflection mirror directs an incident light beam to a particular fiber, the incident light beam may enter the fiber at a location offset from the center of the fiber. When the incident beam is reflected at the opposite end of the fiber, the beam returns and exits the fiber exactly at the center of the fiber. The difference between the entry and exit points results in a return beam path different than the incident beam path. This different return beam path may be used to impinge upon a quadrant detector, whose anode currents may then contain a direct measurement of the distance between the entry and exit points on the fiber.

Claims

1. An optical switch for use with an incident light beam, comprising first and second optical fibers, a beam positioner for selectively coupling said incident light beam into one of said first and second optical fibers, a quadrant detector for sensing at least a portion of a reflected light beam reflected back out of the one of said first and second optical fibers so as to determine an offset signal corresponding to an offset position between said incident light beam and said reflected light beam and a controller coupled to said quadrant detector and said beam positioner for moving said beam positioner so as to minimize said offset position between said incident light beam and said reflected light beam and thereby increase the coupling efficiency into the one of said first and second optical fibers.

2. The switch of claim 1 wherein said beam positioner includes a pivotable reflector.

3. The switch of claim 2 wherein said beam positioner includes a focusing lens for coupling said incident beam from said reflector into the one of said first and second optical fibers.

4. The switch of claim 1 wherein said optical fiber has a fiber terminator.

5. The switch of claim 4 wherein said fiber terminator has an end face that is angle-cleaved so that any of said incident light beam reflected from said end face does not travel coincident with said reflected light beam.

6. The switch of claim 4 wherein said fiber terminator provides a free-space to fiber-optic beam interface.

7. The switch of claim 1 wherein said beam positioner includes a movable focusing lens.

8. The switch of claim 1 wherein said offset position is an angular offset.

9. The switch of claim 1 wherein said offset position is a distance offset.

10. The switch of claim 1 wherein said quadrant detector includes a photodiode A, a photodiode B, a photodiode C, and a photodiode D.

11. The switch of claim 10 wherein the at least a portion of said reflected beam contacts said quadrant detector at a distance from a center of said quadrant detector.

12. The switch of claim 11 wherein said photodiode A produces a current S_A, said photodiode B produces a current S_B, said photodiode C produces a current S_C, and said photodiode D produces a current S_D.

13. The switch of claim 12 wherein said current S_A, said current S_B, said current S_C, and said current S_D each varies as a function of said distance from said center of said quadrant detector.

14. The switch of claim 13 wherein said detector generates a horizontal error signal HES from said current S_A, said current S_B, said current S_C, and said current S_D according to a formula:

HES=(S_B+S_D)−

(S_A+S_C)/(S_A+S_B+S_C+S_D).

15. The switch of claim 13 wherein said detector generates a vertical error signal VES from said current S_A, said current S_B, said current S_C, and said current S_D according to a formula:

VES=(S_A+S_B)−

(S_C+S_D)/(S_A+S_B+S_C+S_D).

16. The switch of claim 1 wherein said switch is located in an optical disk drive.

17. A system for measurement of an alignment error between an incident light beam and an optical fiber, comprising an incident beam path configured to allow said incident light beam to impinge upon a fiber terminator of said optical fiber, a return beam path extending from said fiber terminator of said optical fiber and configured to return light from said incident light beam and a quadrant detector configured to measure an offset between said return beam path and said incident beam path, said fiber terminator being located within a fiber-optic switch of an optical disk drive.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein said fiber-optic switch switches a head within said optical disk drive.

19. A system for measurement of an alignment error between an incident light beam and an optical fiber, comprising an incident beam path configured to allow said incident light beam to impinge upon a fiber terminator of said optical fiber, a return beam path extending from said fiber terminator of said optical fiber and configured to return light from said incident light beam and a quadrant detector configured to measure an offset between said return beam path and said incident beam path, said fiber terminator being located within a fiber-optic switch and a current from said quadrant detector driving a servo-control circuit.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein said servo-control circuit drives a beam deflector.

21. The system of claim 20 wherein said beam deflector moves said incident beam path towards an axial center of said fiber terminator.

22. A method of coupling an incident light beam into one of first and second optical fibers using an optical switch having a quadrant detector, comprising the steps of selectively directing said incident light beam along an incident beam path so as to couple said incident light beam into said one of first and second optical fibers, sensing with said quadrant detector at least a portion of a reflected light beam reflected back out of said one of first and second optical fibers so as to determine an offset signal corresponding to an offset position between said reflected light beam and said incident light beam and moving said incident light beam so as to minimize said offset position.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein said optical fiber includes a fiber terminator.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein said fiber terminator has an end face that is angle-cleaved so that any of said incident light beam reflected from said end face does not travel coincident with said reflected light beam.

25. The method of claim 23 wherein said fiber terminator provides a free-space to fiber-optic beam interface.

26. The method of claim 23 wherein said reflected light beam emerges at an axial center of said fiber terminator.

27. The method of claim 22 wherein said offset position is a distance offset.

28. The method of claim 22 wherein said offset position is an angular offset.

29. The method of claim 22 wherein said quadrant detector includes a photodiode A, a photodiode B, a photodiode C, and a photodiode D.

30. The method of claim 29 wherein at least a portion of said reflected light beam contacts said quadrant detector at a distance from a center of said quadrant detector.

31. The method of claim 30 wherein said photodiode A produces a current S_A, said photodiode B produces a current S_B, said photodiode C produces a current S_C, and said photodiode D produces a current S_D.

32. The method of claim 31 wherein said current S_A, said current S_B, said current S_C, and said current S_D each varies as a function of said distance from said center of said quadrant detector.

33. The method of claim 32 wherein said detector generates a horizontal error signal HES from said current S_A, said current S_B, said current S_C, and said current S_D according to a formula:

34. The method of claim 32 wherein said detector generates a vertical error signal VES from said current S_A, said current S_B, said current S_C, and said current S_D according to a formula:

35. The method of claim 22 wherein said optical switch is located within an optical disk drive.

36. The method of claim 35 wherein said optical switch switches a head within said optical disk drive.

37. The method of claim 22 wherein said quadrant detector drives a servo-control circuit.

38. The method of claim 37 wherein said servo-control circuit drives a beam positioner in said moving step.

39. The method of claim 38 wherein said beam positioner is a beam deflector.