Optical fiber package

Abstract

A package that protects an optical fiber from strain or controls the strain to which the fiber is subjected for a desired effect and a method for making the package are disclosed. The package is a sleeve with an internal passage in which a portion of an optical fiber is placed. The optical fiber and the sleeve are made of materials with coefficients of thermal expansion that are the same or different. If the coefficients of thermal expansion are the same, the package protects the fiber from certain strains brought about by a change in temperature that would otherwise result if the package and the fiber were made of different materials. However, by selectively mismatching the coefficients of thermal expansion of the package and the fiber, a change in temperature can be used to bring about a desired change in the wavelength of a grating written in the fiber. The optical fiber is fixed in the sleeve by epoxy or other adhesive means at least at one point in the internal passage of the sleeve.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.