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US 6,606,431 B2Granted
Method for creating side firing or leaky optical fibers
OwnerJohn D. Unsworthinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Means for creating side-firing optical fibers in large numbers and providing means for controlling the amount and frequency of radiation passes through the sides of the fiber. Also means for switching and channeling radiation through the sides of the fibers is disclosed and methods for strengthening the treated and untreated portions of the fiber.
Claims6
A method that causes optical fibers to side fire or leak by directing photo-thermal energy produced by a laser onto the part or parts of the optical fiber that are intended to side fire or leak, by
- moving the photo-thermal emitter along on a computer controlled moving platen, relative to the adjacent optical fiber,
- such that the emitter projects photo-thermal energy onto the optical fiber at programmed points,
- thereby changing the chemical properties of those parts of the optical fiber, and
- thereby causing the optical fiber at those points of change to leak or side-fire.
1 more element
A method for reducing breakage of the treated and untreated parts of the optical fiber,
- wherein the fibers are coated with a transmissive coating, and
- the coating shrinks after application, compressing the optical coated optical fiber, and
- such compression thereby reduces the tendency of the fiber to break when stressed.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.