Interleaver/deinterleavers causing little or no dispersion...

Optical: systems and elements – Polarization without modulation – By relatively adjustable superimposed or in series polarizers

Reexamination Certificate

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C359S494010, C359S490020, C359S490020, C359S490020, C359S199200, C359S199200

Reexamination Certificate

active

06301046

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to optical devices. More particularly, the invention relates to an interleaver/deinterleaver having a folded design that causes little or no dispersion in optical signals.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
As telecommunications usage increases as a result of, for example, increased Internet usage, increased types of communications, and population growth, telecommunications providers are required to provide greater voice- and data-carrying capacity. In order to reduce cost and the amount of time required to provide the increased capacity wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) and dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) have been developed, which provide increased capacity without requiring new fiber optic cables.
WDM and DWDM technologies combine multiple optical signals into a single fiber by transporting different signals on a different optical wavelengths or channels. Interleaving and deinterleaving of optical channels is typically accomplished with thin film optical filters. However, multiple layers of film are required to interleave and deinterleave multiple channels, which increases the cost and complexity of a component. Another disadvantage of multiple layers of thin film for filtering is that the thin films break down over time, especially when operating under high power conditions.
What is needed is an improved optical device for use with WDM and/or DWDM optical signals. Prior attempts to improve optical devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,566,761 issued Jan. 28, 1986 to Carlsen et al; U.S. Pat. No. 4,685,773 issued Aug. 11, 1987 to Carlsen et al; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,694,233 issued Dec. 2, 1997 to Wu et al, which are incorporated herein by reference.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Folded interleaver/deinterleavers causing little or no dispersion of optical signals are described. In one embodiment, the interleaver/deinterleaver includes a birefringent element and a reflective elements positioned to reflect an optical signal having a first polarization through the birefringent element along a first optical path. The interleaver/deinterleaver also includes a walk-off crystal positioned to receive the optical signal from the birefringent element. The walk-off crystal offsets the optical signal. A mirror is positioned to reflect the signals back to the birefringent element and the plurality of reflective elements along a second optical path that is parallel to the first optical path such that the optical signal following the second optical path has a polarization that is orthogonal to the first polarization. An optical signal received via a first port is separated into a first subset and a second subset directed to a second port and a third port, respectively, and optical signals received via the second port and the third port are combined and directed to the first port.


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