Article comprising an improved cascaded optical fiber Raman device
AssigneeLucent Technologies Inc.
InventorsJane Deborah LeGrange, William Alfred Reed, Kenneth Lee Walker
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The performance of optical fiber Raman devices can be increased by substitution of a broadband reflector (typically a multilayer dielectric mirror) for some of the narrowband reflectors (typically fiber Bragg gratings) that are conventionally used to define the optical cavities of the device. The device exemplarily is a Raman laser or amplifier, and in preferred embodiments a broadband reflector reflects all the Stokes-shifted wavelengths, such that the cavities are defined by the single broadband reflector and by a multiplicity of appropriately selected narrowband reflectors. Optionally the broadband reflector also serves to reflect the pump radiation.
Claims9
Apparatus comprising a cascaded optical fiber Raman device that comprises
- a) a length of optical fiber;
- b) a coupler for introducing pump radiation of wavelength .lambda..sub.p into said length of optical fiber;
- and
- c) reflectors selected to reflect radiation of each of wavelengths .lambda..sub.1, .lambda..sub.2 . . . .lambda..sub.n, where the wavelength difference between any two adjacent wavelengths corresponds to a Stokes shift, and n.gtoreq.2
- CHARACTERIZED IN THAT
- d) said reflectors include a multiplicity of narrowband reflectors, each said narrowband reflector having a reflectivity curve with full width at half maximum (FWHM) less than 20 nm;
- and
- e) said reflectors further include a broadband reflector with FWHM greater than said Stokes shift, said narrowband and broadband reflectors disposed to provide optical cavities for the wavelengths .lambda..sub.1, .lambda..sub.2 . . . .lambda..sub.n.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.