Back to results
US 2004/0070833 A1Published application
Etalon having a self-supporting thin film
AssigneeJDS Uniphase Corporation
InventorsRobert B. Sargent, Charles Andrew Hulse
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The invention provides a substantially athermal etalon. In one embodiment, the multi-cavity etalon includes at least one free-standing multi-layer thin film and is rendered thermally stable through the use of the free-standing multi-layer film and spacers having predetermined thermal expansion coefficients. In another embodiment, the multi-cavity etalon is rendered thermally stable through the use of mixed spacers.
Claims31
An etalon comprising:
- a first reflector;
- and
- a second reflector opposing the first reflector, the first and second reflectors mounted in a spaced-apart relationship to form a gap therebetween, wherein at least one of the first and second reflectors includes a free-standing multi-layer thin film.
An etalon comprising:
- a first partially reflective reflector;
- a second partially reflective reflector opposing the first partially reflective reflector;
- and
- at least one free-standing multi-layer thin film filter optically disposed between the first and second partially reflective reflectors, the first and second partially reflective reflectors each disposed a predetermined distance from the at least one free-standing multi-layer thin film filter.
1 more element
An etalon comprising:
- a first reflector having a reflective surface and a substrate supporting the reflective surface;
- a second reflector having a reflective surface and a substrate supporting the reflective surface, the second reflector disposed such that its substrate faces the substrate of the first reflector;
- and,
- a spacer disposed for maintaining the first and second reflectors in a spaced-apart relationship to form a gap therebetween, wherein the spacer has a coefficient of thermal expansion selected to compensate for changes in refractive index and physical dimensions of the substrates resulting from temperature fluctuations.
1 more element
A multi-cavity etalon comprising:
- a plurality of cavities, each cavity including a light transmissive substrate and a spacer coupled to the light transmissive substrate;
- and
- a partially transmissive reflector disposed between adjacent cavities.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.