Rotary optical beam generator
AssigneeLumentum Operations LLC
InventorsMartin H. MUENDEL, James J. MOREHEAD, Vincent PETIT, Richard D. FAULHABER
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Abstract
An optical fiber device may include a unitary core including a primary section and a secondary section, wherein at least a portion of the secondary section is offset from a center of the unitary core, wherein the unitary core twists about an axis of the optical fiber device along a length of the optical fiber device, and wherein a refractive index of the primary section is greater than a refractive index of the secondary section; and a cladding surrounding the unitary core.
Claims20
An optical fiber device, comprising:
- a core section that twists about an axis of the optical fiber device along a length of the optical fiber device,
- wherein a center of the core section is offset from the axis of the optical fiber device along the length of the optical fiber device,
- wherein a rate of twist at which the core section twists about the axis increases from a first rate of twist at a first end of the optical fiber device to a second rate of twist at a second end of the optical fiber device, and
- wherein the core section being twisted about the axis is to cause an optical beam, launched at the first end of the optical fiber device, to be at least partially converted to a rotary optical beam at a second end of the optical fiber device;
- and
- a cladding surrounding the core section.
A method, comprising:
- receiving, by a rotator fiber, an optical beam at a first end of the rotator fiber,
- wherein the rotator fiber includes a core section that twists about an axis of the rotator fiber along a length of the rotator fiber such that a center of the core section is offset from the axis of the rotator fiber along the length of the rotator fiber,
- wherein a rate of twist at which the core section twists about the axis increases from a first rate of twist at a first end of the rotator fiber to a second rate of twist at a second end of the rotator fiber;
- at least partially converting, by the rotator fiber, the optical beam to a rotary optical beam,
- wherein the optical beam is at least partially converted to the rotary optical beam as a result of the core section being twisted about the axis;
- and
- outputting, by the rotator fiber, the rotary optical beam.
An annular beam generator, comprising:
- an optical fiber device including:
- a core section that twists about an axis of the optical fiber device along a length of the optical fiber device, the core section being offset from the axis of the optical fiber device along the length of the optical fiber device,
- wherein a rate of twist at which the core section twists about the axis increases along the length of the optical fiber device from a first end of the optical fiber device to a second end of the optical fiber device;
- and
- a cladding surrounding the core section.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.