All fiber polarization splitting switch

Optical waveguides – With optical coupler – Switch

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385 24, 385 37, G02B 628

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active

059434538

ABSTRACT:
An all-optical polarization splitting switch of the Mach-Zehnder type includes a polarization maintaining fiber, an optical input signal, an optical pump signal, two polarization cross couplers, and a polarization splitting coupler. The polarization maintaining fiber carries the optical signal and the optical pump signal while maintaining polarization orientation. The first polarization cross coupler splits the optical signal into two portions having mutually perpendicular polarization states which have approximately equal power. The optical pump signal, when present, changes the phase of the first portion of the optical signal with respect to the second portion of the optical signal. The second polarization cross coupler combines all the optical power into a combined optical signal. The polarization splitting coupler couples the combined optical signal into a first output port or a second output port in accordance with the polarization state of the combined signal. This configuration eliminates many of the signal phase discrepancies that occur due to thermal instability and unequal fiber lengths which the Mach-Zehnder type switch exhibits. One application for this invention is a polarization splitting switch for a distributed sensor array.

REFERENCES:
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patent: 5793905 (1998-08-01), Maier et al.
William P. Risk, III, "Fiber-Optic Modulators Using Acoustically-Induced Polarization Coupling," Doctoral Dissertation, Stanford University, Jun. 1986.
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Stefano Trillo, et al., "Observation of Ultrafast Nonlinear Polarization Switching Induced by Polarization Instability in a Birefringent Fiber Rocking Filter," IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics, vol. 25, No. 1, Jan. 1989, pp. 104-112.
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R. Kashyap, et al., "Wideband Gain Flattened Erbium Fibre Amplifier Using a Photosensitive Fibre Blazed Grating," Electronics Letters, vol. 29, No. 2, Jan. 21, 1993, pp. 154-156.
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Product Data 917P, 918P, Polarizers, Polarization Splitters, Canadian Instrumentation and Research Limited product brochure, Rev. Jul. 1994.

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