US 11,698,493 B2Granted

Single-ended output circulator

AssigneeII-Vi Delaware, Inc.

InventorsLi Wu, Yunbing Xu, Weimin Chen, Yuping Wu, Danping Wei, Peng Xiao, Yang Li, Hongming Cai

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Abstract

A single-ended output circulator includes a three-core optical fiber head having first, second, and third optical fiber cores; a walk-off crystal having a first surface facing towards the second end of the three-core optical fiber head tube and a second surface facing away from the second end of the three-core optical fiber head tube; a plurality of half-wave plates each having a first surface coupled to the second surface of the walk-off crystal and a second surface facing away from the second surface of the walk-off crystal; a collimating lens having a first end and a second end; a reflection mirror configured to reflect light beams from the collimating lens; an optical prism between the collimating lens and the reflection mirror and configured to transmit a light beam along a propagation direction according to a polarization direction of the light beam; and a polarization rotator.

Claims21

Dependent claims

An optical circulator for routing a light beam, the optical circulator comprising:

first, second, and third optical ports disposed at a first end of the optical circulator and configured to transmit the light beam;
a birefringent crystal disposed in optical communication with the first, second, and third optical ports and configured to refract the light beam based on a polarization direction and a propagation direction;
a plurality of half-wave plates disposed in optical communication with the birefringent crystal, each of the half-wave plates configured to shift the polarization direction of the light beam passing therethrough;
an optical prism disposed in optical communication with the half-wave plates and configured to transmit the light beam along the propagation direction according to the polarization direction of the light beam;
a reflector disposed at a second end of the optical circulator and disposed in optical communication with the optical prism, the reflector configured to reflect the light beam incident thereto back to the optical prism;
a polarization rotator disposed in optical communication at least between the plurality of half-wave plates and the optical prism and configured to rotate the polarization direction of the light beam;
and
a housing comprising a first connecting tube having a first spherical end surface and a second connecting tube having a second spherical end surface matching the first spherical end surface of the first connecting tube,
wherein the housing includes the first, second, and third optical ports, the birefringent crystal, the half-wave plates, the optical prism, the polarization rotator, and the reflector.

6 more elements

A single-ended output circulator, comprising:

a first connecting tube comprising a first end and a second end, the second end having a spherical end surface;
a second connecting tube having a first end having a spherical end surface adjustably matched with the spherical end surface of the first connecting tube;
a three-core optical fiber head having a first optical fiber core, a second optical fiber core, a third optical fiber core, a first end, and a second opposing end;
a walk-off crystal having a first surface facing towards the second end of the three-core optical fiber head and a second surface facing away from the second end of the three-core optical fiber head;
a plurality of half-wave plates each having a first surface coupled to the second surface of the walk-off crystal and a second surface facing away from the second surface of the walk-off crystal;
a collimating lens having a first end facing towards the plurality of half-wave plates and a second end facing away from the plurality of half-wave plates;
a reflection mirror facing towards the second end of the collimating lens and configured to reflect a light beam from the collimating lens;
an optical prism between the collimating lens and the reflection mirror and configured to transmit the light beam along a propagation direction according to a polarization direction of the light beam;
and
a polarization rotator disposed between the plurality of half-wave plates and the collimating lens,
wherein the second end of the three-core optical fiber head penetrates into the first end of the first connecting tube, and
wherein the first end of the collimating lens penetrates into the second end of the first connecting tube.

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 17/204,768Filed 17 Mar 2021
Priority: CN 202010191575.118 Mar 2020
Published: US 2021/0294037 A123 Sep 2021
Granted: 11 Jul 2023
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification11 codes

G02B 6/2746
With polarisation selective and adjusting means: comprising non-reciprocal devices, e.g. isolators, FRM, circulators, quasi-isolators
G02B 6/29322
Light guides of the optical fibre type: diffractive elements of the tunable type
G02B 6/002
Provided on the surface of the light guide or in the bulk of it: by shaping at least a portion of the light guide, e.g. with collimating,…
G02B 6/105
Of the optical waveguide type: having optical polarisation effects