P-Si Er fiber profile
AssigneeCorning Incorporated
InventorsAdam K. Collier, Grant D. Cunningham, Gang Qi
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An optical fiber for signal amplification comprises a core, doped with at least 15% phosphorus by weight and a rare earth ion sufficient to provide amplification of an optical signal. The fiber also comprises a clad layer surrounding the core with an inner portion and an outer portion. The refractive index of the inner portion of the clad layer is lower than that at the outer radius of the core region. This depressed inner clad portion serves to confine electromagnetic radiation within a selected wavelength range to substantially only the core.
Claims26
An optical fiber for signal amplification comprising:
- a core having a center axis, the core being doped with at least 15% phosphorus by weight and at least one rare earth ion to a level sufficient to provide optical signal amplification;
- and
- a clad layer surrounding the core, having an axis collinear with the center axis, an inner portion and an outer portion, wherein:
- the inner portion is adjacent to an outer periphery of the core;
- and
- the refractive index of the inner portion is less than the refractive index at the outer periphery of the core, whereby the difference in refractive index between the outer periphery of the core and the clad layer is sufficient to confine electromagnetic radiation within a selected wavelength range substantially only to the core.
An optical fiber comprising:
- a rare earth ion doped core having a center axis, wherein the refractive index is lowest along the center axis and initially increases with radial distance from the center axis;
- and
- a clad layer having an axis collinear with the center axis, an inner portion, and at least one outer portion, wherein:
- the inner portion is adjacent to an outer periphery of the core;
- and
- the refractive index of the inner portion is less than the refractive index at the outer periphery of the core, whereby the difference in refractive index between the outer periphery of the core and the clad layer is sufficient to confine electromagnetic radiation within a selected wavelength range to substantially only the core.
An optical fiber comprising:
- a core having a center axis, the core being doped with phosphorus and erbium to a level sufficient to provide optical amplification, wherein
- the refractive index of the core is lowest along the central axis and initially increases with radial distance from the center axis;
- the concentration of phosphorus in the core initially increases with radial distance from the center axis;
- the core has an outer radius in the range of 2 μm to 6 μm;
- and
- a clad layer having an axis collinear with the center axis, an inner portion adjacent to an outer periphery of the core and at least one outer portion, wherein:
- the refractive index of the inner portion of the clad layer is less than the refractive index at the outer periphery of the core, whereby the difference in refractive index between the outer periphery of the core and the inner portion of the clad layer is sufficient to confine electromagnetic radiation within a wavelength range of 1560 nm to 1625 to substantially only the core;
- the inner portion has an inner radius r1 and an outer radius r2 and the difference r1−r2 is in the range of 2r1 to 5r1;
- and
- the clad layer includes at least one dopant in the clad layer, wherein the at least one dopant includes at least one element selected from the group consisting of boron and fluorine.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.