Polarization-maintaining optical coupler and method of making the same
OwnerYong Huanginventor
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Abstract
Embodiments of the present invention provide an optical coupler. The optical coupler includes a fused optical coupling region made of part of a first and a second single-mode (SM) fiber, with a portion of the second SM fiber being a pigtail fiber on a first side of the fused optical coupling region; and a first and a second polarization-maintaining (PM) fiber on the first side and a second side of the fused optical coupling region respectively. Methods of making the optical coupler and system that utilizes the optical coupler are also provided.
Claims20
An optical coupler, comprising:
- a fused optical coupling region made of part of at least a first and a second single-mode (SM) fiber, with a portion of said second SM fiber being a pigtail fiber on a first side of said fused optical coupling region;
- and
- a first and a second polarization-maintaining (PM) fiber on said first side and a second side of said fused optical coupling region respectively.
An optical coupler, comprising:
- a fused optical coupling region being made of part of at least a first, a second, and a third single-mode (SM) fiber;
- a first polarization-maintaining (PM) fiber being spliced to said first SM fiber at a location sufficiently close to a first side of said fused optical coupling region;
- and
- at least a second PM fiber being spliced to said second SM fiber at a location sufficiently close to a second side of said fused optical coupling region.
A method of making an optical coupler, comprising:
- providing a plurality of segment-type fibers, said segment-type fibers having at least a first segment of polarization-maintaining (PM) fiber and a second segment of single-mode (SM) fiber;
- arranging said plurality of segment-type fibers in a bundle, said bundle having at least one said first segment of PM fiber and one said second segment of SM fiber at each side of said bundle, and having a common section of tightly spaced said second segment of SM fibers;
- and
- fusing and drawing said common section into a fused optical coupling region.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.