US 11,029,467 B2Granted

Fiber coupler

AssigneeLumentum Operations LLC

InventorsMartin H. Muendel, Richard D. Faulhaber, James Lefort, James J. Morehead, Vincent Petit, Simonette Pierrot, Kyle R. Schneider

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Abstract

A method may include performing an active alignment to enable optical coupling between a first optical fiber and a second optical fiber via an imaging structure. An end of the first optical fiber may be at a first location on a first surface of the imaging structure. The first location may be a first transverse offset distance from an axis of the imaging structure. An end of the second optical fiber may be at a second location of the first surface of the imaging structure. The second location may be a second transverse offset distance from the axis of the imaging structure. The method may include fusion splicing the end of the first optical fiber at the first location on the first surface of the imaging structure, and fusion splicing the end of the second optical fiber at the second location on the first surface of the imaging structure.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A method, comprising:

providing a first optical fiber and a second optical fiber such that an end of the first optical fiber is at a fixed position with respect to an end of the second optical fiber;
performing an active alignment to enable optical coupling between the first optical fiber and the second optical fiber via a curved endcap structure with a fixed refractive index,
wherein a center of curvature of the curved endcap structure is located on a first surface of the curved endcap structure, and
wherein, as a result of the active alignment:
an end of the first optical fiber is at a first location on the first surface of the curved endcap structure,
wherein the first location is at a first transverse offset distance from an axis of the curved endcap structure, and
an end of the second optical fiber is at a second location of the first surface of the curved endcap structure,
wherein the second location is at a second transverse offset distance from the axis of the curved endcap structure;
and
concurrently fusion splicing the end of the first optical fiber at the first location on the first surface and the end of the second optical fiber at the second location on the first surface,
wherein at least one of:
the curved endcap structure is formed from undoped fused silica, or
the first optical fiber is a pump input fiber and the second optical fiber is an amplifier fiber.

10 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 16/587,834Filed 30 Sep 2019 · us provisional application
Priority: 11 Oct 2018
Published: US 2020/0116935 A116 Apr 2020
Granted: 8 Jun 2021
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification12 codes

G02B 6/32
Optical coupling means: having lens focusing means positioned between opposed fibre ends
C03C 3/04
Glass compositions: containing silica
G02B 6/122
Of the integrated circuit kind: basic optical elements, e.g. light-guiding paths
G02B 6/255
Coupling light guides: splicing of light guides, e.g. by fusion or bonding

Family

Application62/744,492Us provisional application · filed 11 Oct 2018
US 2020/0116935 A1Pre-grant publication · published 16 Apr 2020
US 11,029,467 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

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