Side-pumped multi-port optical amplifier and method of manufacture using fiber drawing technologies
First Claim
1. A multi-port optical amplifier chip, comprising:
- an inner cladding layer;
a pair of outer cladding layers formed on opposite surfaces of the inner cladding layer, said inner and outer cladding layers forming a pump waveguide having a transverse direction and a longitudinal direction;
a plurality of active core elements arranged in the inner cladding layer, said active core elements having respective input ports for receiving optical signals and respective output ports for distributing amplified optical signals, said inner cladding layer and each said active core element forming a signal waveguide for confining the optical signal therein to propagate along an optical signal path between the active core element'"'"'s input and output ports;
a pump source arranged to direct pump light into the inner cladding layer in general alignment with the transverse direction of the pump waveguide to illuminate at least one said active core element along at least a portion of its optical signal path; and
a pair of reflecting surfaces arranged at opposing sides of the inner cladding layer to reflect pump light in the generally transverse direction, said reflecting surfaces redirecting at least a portion of pump light incident thereon to illuminate the active core elements along their optical signal paths thereby exciting the active core elements and amplifying the respective optical signals.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A multi-port optical amplifier chip has an inner cladding layer sandwiched between a pair of outer cladding layers, a plurality of active core elements disposed substantially within the inner cladding layer to receive optical signals at respective input ports and transmit amplified optical signals at respective output ports, a pair of reflecting surfaces on opposing sides of the inner cladding and at least one pump source. The pump source directs pump light into the inner cladding layer where it is confined to bounce back-and-forth across the active core elements thereby enhancing the absorption of pump light into the core elements, hence increasing gain. Greater than 5 dB over the C-band (1930 nm-1965 nm) in less than 10 cm is expected with a phosphate glass material co-doped with greater than 2 weight percent Erbium and 10 weight percent Ytterbium. A number of fiber drawing based approaches are contemplated for manufacturing the amplifiers to achieve this performance and reduce cost.
24 Citations
78 Claims
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1. A multi-port optical amplifier chip, comprising:
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an inner cladding layer;
a pair of outer cladding layers formed on opposite surfaces of the inner cladding layer, said inner and outer cladding layers forming a pump waveguide having a transverse direction and a longitudinal direction;
a plurality of active core elements arranged in the inner cladding layer, said active core elements having respective input ports for receiving optical signals and respective output ports for distributing amplified optical signals, said inner cladding layer and each said active core element forming a signal waveguide for confining the optical signal therein to propagate along an optical signal path between the active core element'"'"'s input and output ports;
a pump source arranged to direct pump light into the inner cladding layer in general alignment with the transverse direction of the pump waveguide to illuminate at least one said active core element along at least a portion of its optical signal path; and
a pair of reflecting surfaces arranged at opposing sides of the inner cladding layer to reflect pump light in the generally transverse direction, said reflecting surfaces redirecting at least a portion of pump light incident thereon to illuminate the active core elements along their optical signal paths thereby exciting the active core elements and amplifying the respective optical signals. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. A multi-port optical amplifier chip, comprising:
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an inner cladding layer formed of a phosphate glass material;
a pair of outer cladding layers formed on opposite surfaces of the inner cladding layer, said inner and outer cladding layers forming a pump waveguide having a transverse direction and a longitudinal direction of no more than 10 cm;
a plurality of active core elements formed of a phosphate glass material co-doped with at least 2 weight percent Erbium and 10 weight percent Ytterbium and arranged in the inner cladding layer, said active core elements having respective input ports for receiving optical signals and respective output ports for distributing amplified optical signals, said inner cladding layer and each said active core element forming a signal waveguide for confining the optical signal therein to propagate along an optical signal path between the active core element'"'"'s input and output ports;
a pump source arranged to direct pump light into the inner cladding layer in general alignment with the transverse direction of the pump waveguide to illuminate at least one said active core element along at least a portion of its optical signal path; and
a pair of reflecting surfaces arranged at opposing sides of the inner cladding layer to reflect pump light in the generally transverse direction, said reflecting surfaces redirecting at least a portion of pump light incident thereon to illuminate the active core elements along their optical signal paths thereby exciting the Erbium and Ytterbium and amplifying the respective optical signals by at least 5 dB over a band of wavelengths spanning at least 1530 nm to 1565 nm. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46)
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47. A wavelength division multiplexed optical communication system, comprising:
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a plurality of optical transmitters adapted to provide a plurality of optical signals at a plurality of optical wavelength channels;
an optical multiplexer in optical communication with said plurality of optical transmitters, said optical multiplexer multiplexing said plurality of optical signals into a single channel;
an optical transmission line in optical communication with said optical multiplexer to transmit the single channel;
an optical demultiplexer in optical communication with said optical transmission line, said optical demultiplexer demultiplexing the single channel into said plurality of optical signals on separate optical channels;
a multi-port optical amplifier in optical communication with said optical demultiplexer to receive the separate optical channels, said multi-port optical amplifier comprising;
an inner cladding layer, a pair of outer cladding layers formed on opposite surfaces of the inner cladding layer, a plurality of active core elements disposed substantially within said inner cladding layer to transmit respective optical signals from the separate optical channels;
a source of pump light constructed and arranged to side-illuminate said inner cladding layer, and a pair of reflecting surfaces arranged at opposing sides of the inner cladding layer to redirect at least a portion of pump light incident thereon to illuminate and excite the active core elements thereby amplifying the respective optical signals; and
a plurality of receivers in optical communication with said multi-port optical amplifier to receive the respective amplified optical signals. - View Dependent Claims (48, 49, 50)
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51. A method of fabricating a plurality of multi-port amplifiers, comprising:
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providing a glass template formed with an array of grooves;
fixing a plurality of active fibers in the array of grooves, each active fiber having a core and a cladding;
polishing the active fiber cladding and template to a desired thickness to form a flat top surface;
fixing a first outer cladding layer to the flat top surface;
polishing the other side of the template and the active fiber cladding to form an inner cladding layer in which the active fiber cores are embedded, said inner cladding having a flat bottom surface;
fixing a second outer cladding layer to the flat bottom surface to form a pump waveguide for confining pump light in the inner cladding layer;
coating the sides of the inner cladding layer with a reflective material to form a pair of reflective surfaces on opposing sides of the active fibers; and
dicing the assembly to form a plurality of multi-port amplifiers. - View Dependent Claims (52, 53, 54, 55, 56)
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57. A method of fabricating a multi-port amplifier chip, comprising:
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drawing an active fiber having a core and a rectangular cladding;
dicing the active fiber into a plurality of active fiber segments having respective input and output ports;
fusion splicing the input port of each active fiber segment to a respective telecom fiber;
fusion splicing the output port of each active fiber segment to a respective telecom fiber;
arranging the plurality of fusion-spliced fibers on a bottom outer cladding layer;
bonding the active fiber segments'"'"' rectangular claddings together to form an inner cladding layer with an embedded array of active fiber cores;
fixing a top outer cladding layer on top of the inner cladding layer to define a pump waveguide structure for confining pump light in the inner cladding layer; and
coating opposing sides of the inner cladding layer with a reflective material to form a pair of reflective surfaces on opposing sides of the active fiber cores. - View Dependent Claims (58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63)
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64. A method of monolithicially fabricating a plurality of multi-port amplifiers, comprising:
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providing a preform glass structure comprising an inner cladding layer sandwiched between a pair of outer cladding layers;
forming an array of holes in the inner cladding layer;
inserting a plurality of active cores elements;
drawing the entire assembly using fiber-drawing techniques to form a multi-port amplifier fiber;
dicing the multi-port amplifier fiber into a plurality of sections;
coating opposing sides of the inner cladding layer in each section with a reflective material to form a pair of reflecting surfaces on opposing sides of the active fiber cores; and
dicing each section to form a plurality of multi-port amplifiers. - View Dependent Claims (65, 66, 67, 68, 69)
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70. A method of fabricating a plurality of multi-port amplifiers, comprising:
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providing a preform glass structure comprising an inner cladding layer;
forming an array of holes in the inner cladding layer;
inserting a plurality of active cores elements to form an amplifier assembly;
drawing the entire amplifier assembly using fiber-drawing techniques;
dicing the drawn assembly into a number of pieces;
polishing the inner cladding layer to a desired thickness;
sandwiching each piece between a pair of outer cladding layers to form a pump waveguide;
coating opposing sides of the inner cladding layer of each piece with a reflective material to form a pair of reflecting surfaces on opposing sides of the active fiber cores; and
dicing each piece to form a plurality of multi-port amplifiers. - View Dependent Claims (71, 72, 73, 74, 75)
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76. A method of fabricating a plurality of multi-port amplifiers, comprising:
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bonding a layer of active gain material to a layer of inner cladding material;
polishing the layer of active gain material to a desired thickness;
dicing the bonded layers into a plurality of cubes;
stacking and bonding the cubes one on top of the next;
vertically slicing the stack to form an inner cladding layer with a plurality of embedded active core elements;
bonding the inner cladding layer between first and second outer cladding layers to form a preform;
drawing the perform to many times it original length;
coating opposing sides of the inner cladding with a reflective material to form a pair of reflecting surfaces on opposing sides of the active fiber cores; and
dicing the assembly to form a plurality of single-mode multi-port amplifiers. - View Dependent Claims (77, 78)
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Specification