Optical channel waveguide amplifier
First Claim
1. An optical waveguide comprising:
- a core of active material exhibiting optical fluorescence when stimulated, said core having a propagation axis extending from an input surface to an output surface, said input surface intersecting said propagation axis at a non-orthogonal angle;
a cladding at least partially surrounding said core; and
wherein said input surface allows both an optical signal and a pump to be combined thereat and concurrently input to said core where said optical signal undergoes amplification by stimulated emissions of said active material driven by said pump.
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Abstract
An optical channel waveguide amplifier and fabrication process are provided for an optical communications system. The amplifier employs an optical waveguide having a core of active material exhibiting optical fluorescence when stimulated. The core has a propagation axis extending from an input surface to an output surface. The input surface intersects the propagation axis at a non-orthogonal angle (e.g., 45°). A cladding at least partially surrounds the core, and a coating is provided over the angled input surface of the core. The coating is anti-reflective of the optical signal, input at a predetermined signal wavelength, and is highly reflective of the pump, input at a predetermined pump wavelength. A prism, index-matched to the core, is secured to the angled face of the optical waveguide so that the input signal may be focused into the core through the prism and the coating collinearly with the axis of propagation, while the pump is reflected into the core off the coating at the angled input surface from an angle to the axis of propagation. The optical signal undergoes amplification within the core by stimulated emissions of the active material driven by the pump.
128 Citations
45 Claims
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1. An optical waveguide comprising:
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a core of active material exhibiting optical fluorescence when stimulated, said core having a propagation axis extending from an input surface to an output surface, said input surface intersecting said propagation axis at a non-orthogonal angle;
a cladding at least partially surrounding said core; and
wherein said input surface allows both an optical signal and a pump to be combined thereat and concurrently input to said core where said optical signal undergoes amplification by stimulated emissions of said active material driven by said pump. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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14. An optical amplifier comprising:
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an optical waveguide having a first end and a second end, and including;
a core of active material exhibiting optical fluorescence when stimulated, said core having a propagation axis extending from an input surface at said first end to an output surface at said second end of said optical waveguide, said input surface intersecting said propagation axis at an non-orthogonal angle;
a cladding at least partially surrounding said core;
wherein said input surface allows both an optical signal and a pump to be concurrently input to said core where said optical signal undergoes amplification by stimulated emissions of said active material driven by said pump;
a first coating disposed over said angled input surface of said core at said first end of said optical waveguide, said first coating being anti-reflective of said optical signal at a predetermined signal wavelength and reflective of said pump at a predetermined pump wavelength;
signal delivery optics disposed in optical proximity to said first end of said optical waveguide for focusing said optical signal into said core through said first coating over said input surface of said optical waveguide; and
pump delivery optics disposed near said first end of said optical waveguide and at an angle to said propagation axis of said core, said pump delivery optics focusing said pump for reflection off said first coating at said input surface of said core wherein said pump enters said core from an angle to said propagation axis. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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22. A method for amplifying an optical signal, said method comprising:
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providing an optical waveguide, said optical waveguide including a core of active material exhibiting optical fluorescence when stimulated, said core having a propagation axis extending from an input surface to an output surface, said input surface intersecting said propagation axis at a non-orthogonal angle, and a first coating disposed over said input surface of said core, said first coating being antireflective of said optical signal and reflective of said pump;
inputting said optical signal into said core through said first coating and said input surface; and
inputting said pump into said core by reflecting said pump off said first coating at said input surface so that said pump enters said core from an angle to said propagation axis, wherein both said optical signal and said pump are concurrently input to said core, and said optical signal undergoes amplification by stimulated emissions of said active material driven by said pump. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
wherein said inputting said optical signal includes using signal delivery optics in optical proximity to said optical waveguide for focusing said optical signal into said core through said first coating over said input surface of said optical waveguide; - and
wherein said inputting said pump includes using pump delivery optics disposed near said optical waveguide and at an angle to said propagation axis of said core, said pump delivery optics focusing said pump for reflection off said first coating and into said core at said input surface.
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41. The method of claim 40, wherein said optical signal is a fiber optic communications signal, wherein said core comprises a multi-mode channel waveguide, and wherein said optical signal is fed to said signal delivery optics via a single mode optical fiber, said pump is fed to said pump delivery optics and is multi-mode, the method further comprising:
using signal recovery optics to provide said amplified optical signal emitted from said optical waveguide to a single mode optical fiber.
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42. The method of claim 41, wherein said optical signal is in the 1300 nm wavelength region.
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43. The method of claim 22, wherein said core and cladding comprise dissimilar materials.
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44. The method of claim 43, wherein said core and cladding are structurally and/or chemically distinct having been separately fabricated as physically different materials and brought together during assembly.
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45. The method of claim 44, wherein said first and second material are adhesively attached in said waveguide.
Specification