Backward-flow ladder architecture and method
AssigneeLitton Systems, Inc.
InventorsH. John Shaw, Behzad M. R. Moslehi
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A ladder architecture comprises an input optical fiber bus and an output optical fiber bus. A plurality of input optical couplers couple light between the input bus and a plurality of branching fibers. A plurality of output couplers couple light from the branching fibers to the output bus. The input bus and the branch fibers may be single mode optical fibers while the output bus a multimode optical fiber. The input couplers may be symmetrical, single mode devices, and the output couplers may be asymmetrical and single mode to multimode devices. The input bus may also be a multimode fiber, and the input couplers may also be multimode to single mode devices. The asymmetrical coupling reduces the amount of signal lost at fiber ends.
Claims16
A fiber optic ladder array comprising:
- a transmit optical fiber bus;
- a plurality of branch single mode optical fibers;
- optical coupling means connected between the transmit bus and the branch single mode optical fibers to couple optical signals from the transmit bus into each of the branch single mode optical fibers;
- an output optical fiber bus that includes an output end;
- and
- asymmetric optical coupling means for coupling light from the branch single mode optical fibers into the output optical fiber bus to reduce the amount of optical signla intensity lost when output signals propagate in the output optical fiber bus toward the output end.
A method for forming a fiber optic ladder array, comprising the steps of:
- forming a transmit optical fiber bus;
- forming a plurality of branch single mode optical fibers;
- coupling optical signals between the transmit bus and the branch single mode optical fibers with optical coupling means connected between the transmit optical fiber bus and the branch optical fibers;
- forming an output optical fiber bus;
- and
- forming a plurality of asymmetrical optical couplers for coupling light from the branch single mode optical fibers into the output optical fiber bus to reduce the amount of optical signal intensity lost when output signals propagate in the output optical fiber bus.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.