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Optical waveguide monitoring

Inactive Publication Date: 2005-03-24
OMNIGUIDE
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The invention features techniques for monitoring the quality (e.g., optical and mechanical properties, including the presence of defects) in optical waveguides (e.g., photonic crystal fibers). The inventors have recognized that the spectral composition of light reflected from the side (e.g., light incident on the outside of the waveguide non-parallel to the waveguide axis, such as ha

Problems solved by technology

Extrinsic causes of attenuation include cable-manufacturing stresses, environmental effects, and physical bends in the fiber.
Any structural and physical defect, such as voids in the core and / or cladding, or fiber eccentricity, significantly enhance light scattering and / or increase the fiber transmission loss.
In addition to the increased transmission loss, structural flaws in the fiber can also lead to reduced mechanical strength and consequently a higher probability of fiber failure in the field.
However, the presence of a hole results in missing fringes.

Method used

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  • Optical waveguide monitoring
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Embodiment Construction

The invention features methods and apparatus for monitoring the quality in optical waveguides (e.g., photonic crystal fibers). The method is based on directing test light to the side of a waveguide (e.g., at a non-zero angle relative to the waveguide axis), and measuring the spectrum of light emerging (e.g., reflected) from the side of a waveguide in response to the test light. Measuring the spectrum includes measuring the intensity of light for a known wavelength or band of wavelengths (e.g., measuring an intensity for each wavelength or wavelength band in a range of wavelengths). Monitoring waveguide quality can include detecting structural defects (e.g., deviations in the core radius or cladding layer thickness, or the presence of air bubbles or contaminant particles) and compositional defects (e.g., variations in the refractive index of the core or cladding layers from their designed values) in the waveguide. The method can be implemented while the waveguide is being made (e.g....

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Abstract

Techniques for monitoring optical waveguides are disclosed.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD This invention relates to optical waveguides, and more particularly to monitoring optical waveguides. BACKGROUND Optical waveguides guide optical signals to propagate along a preferred path or paths. Accordingly, they can be used to carry optical signal information between different locations and thus they form the basis of optical telecommunication networks. The most prevalent type of optical waveguide is an optical fiber based on index guiding. Such fibers include a core region extending along a waveguide axis and a cladding region surrounding the core about the waveguide axis and having a refractive index less than that of the core region. Because of the index-contrast, optical rays propagating substantially along the waveguide axis in the higher-index core can undergo total internal reflection (TIR) from the core-cladding interface. As a result, the optical fiber guides one or more modes of electromagnetic (EM) radiation to propagate in the core along the waveg...

Claims

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Application Information

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IPC IPC(8): C03B37/025G01M11/00G02B6/02
CPCC03B37/0253G02B6/02304G01M11/37C03B2203/42
Inventor SHURGALIN, MAXFINK, YOELJOHNSON, STEVEN G.IBANESCU, MIHAI
Owner OMNIGUIDE