Ellipsoidal optical coupling device
AssigneeCables Cortaillod S.A.
InventorsPierre Benoit, Jean-Paul Pellaux, Gilbert Widmer, Betty Kerllenevich, Andre Coche
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Abstract
An optical coupling device wherein at least two light conductors are coupled through the intermediary of a transparent block in the shape of a half-ellipsoid on whose foci converge the end sections of the two light conductors. A light beam emerging from one conductor is reflected and transforms itself into a beam converging on the end of the second conductor. A slot permits the introduction of a liquid-crystal attenuating device connected to an alternating voltage source.
Claims22
An optical coupling device for at least two light conductors, comprising a solid body at least a part of which consists of a half-ellipsoid of revolution made of a material transparent at least in the wavelength range of the light transmitted by these light conductors, the outer surface of said half-ellipsoid being placed in an ambient medium, means for positioning the end of one of said light conductors at one of the foci of said half-ellipsoid, second means for positioning the end of a second light conductor at the other focus of said half-ellipsoid, said positioning means orienting the optical axes of the two conductors whose ends have been placed at the foci of the half-ellipsoid in such a way that a divergent light beam emitted by one of these conductors is transformed, after having undergone a total reflection inside said half-ellipsoid, at the interface between said half-ellipsoid and said ambient medium into a beam converging on the end of the other conductor, said half-ellipsoid including a slot formed therein to permit the interposition along the path of said convergent beam of beam modifying means operative to modify a light beam transmitted through said half-ellipsoid.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.