Patent Application
20170195043
In general, the invention relates generally to optical systems and nanocrystal-in-glass materials. In more detail, the invention relates to a nanocrystal-in-glass material for providing fiber optics telecommunications functionality.
It is critical to test the optical signal transmission characteristics of fiber optic communication lines at various points along the line. Conventional optical fiber consists of a core and a cladding and as such may be utilized as an optical waveguide.
Conventional optical test ports utilize a tapered fiber approach, which introduces some amount of optical loss for light that traverses the testing port. In particular, conventional optical test ports require mounting a certain section of the fiber such that the fiber is stretched rendering the core and cladding much thinner compared to rest of fiber. When the optical light passes through the stretched section, because the diameter of fiber is thinner in that area it results in optical loss in the propagated signal. A photodetector is introduced to measure the leakage light.
Applicants have identified significant shortcomings with conventional approaches to optical testing of waveguides. In particular, a major limitation of conventional approaches such as the tapered fiber approach, is that there is no way to turn the optical test functionality “on” or “off” in an active manner.
The following presents a simplified summary of the invention in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the invention. This summary is not an extensive overview of the invention. It is not intended to identify key/critical elements of the invention or to delineate the scope of the invention. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.
According to one embodiment an optical test port for testing an optical waveguide comprises a nanocrystal-in-glass member coupled to the optical waveguide, the nanocrystal-in-glass member comprising a transmission portion and a testing portion, at least one electrode coupled to the nanocrystal-in-glass member such that an optical transmission through at least one of the transmission portion and the testing portion is varied continuously based upon a voltage established on the electrode, and a photodetector coupled to the testing portion, the photodetector receiving a light signal from the testing portion and indicating a transmission characteristic of the optical waveguide.
According to an alternative embodiment, an optical test port for testing an optical waveguide comprises a nanocrystal-in-glass member coupled to the optical waveguide, a first electrode and a second electrode coupled to the nanocrystal-in-glass member and a detector coupled to the first electrode for measuring electrons generated by absorbed photons passing through the nanocrystal-in-glass member.
According to an alternative embodiment, an optical test port for testing an optical waveguide comprises a nanocrystal-in-glass member coupled to the optical waveguide, the nanocrystal-in-glass member comprising a transmission portion and a testing portion, at least one electrode coupled to the nanocrystal-in-glass member such that an optical transmission through at last one of the transmission portion and the testing portion is varied continuously based upon a voltage established on the at least one electrode, and a detector coupled to the testing portion, the detector measuring an electromagnetic property of the testing portion.
Applicants have developed a technique that allows for active tuning of optical test ports and makes use of electrochromic materials, which may be optically tuned by an applied electric field. The optical test port is arranged to include a transmission portion and a testing portion, both of which are comprised of electrochromic materials. If testing is desired, a voltage signal may be applied to the electrochromic material associated with the testing portion to cause a portion of the light to propagate through the testing portion. If no testing is desired, no voltage is applied so that all of optical signal will pass through the transmission portion with a minimum of optical loss and interruption to optical transmission line.
For example, light transmission properties of nanocrystal-in-glass material 104 may be modulated by application of a voltage to nanocrystal-in-glass material 104 via electrodes 102(1) and 102(2), which form a pair. The voltage applied may be obtained from a voltage source and vary over a range. Nanocrystal-in-glass material 104 may incorporate nanocrystals covalently bonded in amorphous material and may enable dynamic control of near-infrared and visible light transmission depending upon an applied voltage to the material.
Upon arriving at the Y-Junction, a portion of light propagating through waveguide 200 will travel through transmission portion 204(2). As will become evident with respect to
Electrochromic optical test port 200 provides a distinct advantage over convention optical test port methodologies such as those that utilize a tapered fiber approach in that it allows active tuning of the transmission properties of the testing portion 204(1) in relation to the transmission portion 204(2). This use of electrochromic material allows active tuning of the light transmission properties, which results in a higher signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for induced light absorption when desired.
These and other advantages maybe realized in accordance with the specific embodiments described as well as other variations. It is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. Many other embodiments and modifications within the spirit and scope of the claims will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. The scope of the invention should, therefore, be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. In the appended claims, the terms “including” are used as the plain-English equivalents of the respective terms “comprising” and “wherein.” Moreover, in the following claims, the terms “first,” “second,” and “third,” etc. are used merely as labels, and are not intended to impose numerical requirements on their objects.
