Optical: systems and elements – Optical amplifier – Optical fiber
Patent
1994-05-09
1995-09-12
Moskowitz, Nelson
Optical: systems and elements
Optical amplifier
Optical fiber
372 6, H01S 316
Patent
active
054502322
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a polymer optical fiber amplifier, or more specifically, to a new GI (Granded Index) type polymer optical fiber amplifier which is useful as a highly efficient and wide bandwidth amplifier.
BACKGROUND ART
Polymer optical fibers have been expected to be an optical transmission device to be used in local area networks (LAN) and optical sensors because of their favorable characteristics of processability, low cost and ease of handling. A sufficiently wide bandwidth is obtainable with the polymer optical fibers because both GI and SM (single mode) types can be manufactured today. However, their drawback is that the transmission loss is greater than that of quartz-base optical fibers. It seems possible to reduce the loss by deuteration and fluorination of polymers, but such reduction effects may be limited. For this reason, people are expecting development of a higher performance amplifier which is adaptable to optical fiber systems as a means to recover such loss. This is because the transmission distance of polymer optical fibers is approximately 200 meters, and all optical LANs which seem necessary in the future can be constructed with polymer optical fibers if a polymer optical fiber amplifier is successfully developed. Under these circumstances, development of a polymer optical fiber amplifier is much expected.
No report, however, has ever been published regarding such a fiber amplifier.
The present invention has been performed against the above condition. The objective of the present invention is to offer a new polymer optical fiber amplifier which improves the problem of transmission loss of conventional optical fibers, and significantly enhances the performance of a polymer optical fiber system by the use of its excellent amplifying operation.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
The present invention aims at solving the above tasks and offers a polymer optical fiber amplifier characterized by being composed of GI type plastic optical fibers containing stimulated emission compounds.
The optical fiber amplifier of the present invention operates on a principle quite different from that of so-called laser oscillators. It is a piece of equipment clearly distinguished from laser oscillators, and amplifies signal light separately input from a light source independent of excitation light (pumping light). The wavelength of the signal light must be different from the wavelength of the excitation light. Except this condition, wavelengths, intensity, etc. can be set freely. A laser oscillator, on the other hand, oscillates light of specified wavelengths emitted from excited active substances by reflecting the light a number of times between two reflecting mirrors which together compose a Fabry-Perot interferometer; it is not that an independent signal light from a separate light source is input. The wavelength of the resonant light source is controlled by the gap between the two reflecting mirrors of the Fabry-Perot interferometer.
The use of the present invention allows for manufacture of organic dye or organic pigment doped GI type polymer optical fibers having a light amplification function in the visible light range by doping chemical compounds having a stimulated emission function such as organic dye or organic pigments into GI type polymer optical fibers. The amplification function of the above polymer optical fibers has been verified in tile experiments. The present invention has been completed based on the above knowledge.
The organic dye or organic pigment doped GI type polymer optical fibers allows for amplifying various wavelengths in the visible light range by selecting an organic dye or organic pigment for doping from a great variety of available organic dye or organic pigment in accordance with the wavelength one wishes to amplify.
Compared with the SI (Step Index) type polymer optical fibers, the GI type polymer optical fibers will maintain coherency of signal light, amplified light and excitation light, and thus can be a highly efficient wideband amplifier
REFERENCES:
patent: 3675157 (1972-07-01), Kaminow et al.
patent: 3894857 (1975-07-01), Uchida et al.
patent: 4015217 (1977-03-01), Switzer
patent: 4139342 (1979-02-01), Sheldrake et al.
patent: 4523319 (1985-06-01), Pfost
Koike Yasuhiro
Sasaki Keisuke
Moskowitz Nelson
Nippon Petrochemicals Co. Ltd.
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