Claims
- 1. An optical interface between an optical fiber and a laser, said optical fiber having a core and an end, said optical interface comprising:
a mirror capable of receiving an optical output of the laser and of reflecting the optical output to the end of the optical fiber such that a chief ray of the optical output is incident on the core of the optical fiber; and a lens located such that the chief ray of the optical output traverses a center of the lens.
- 2. The optical interface of claim 1, wherein said end of the optical fiber is slanted.
- 3. The optical interface of claim 1, wherein the lens comprises a ball lens.
- 4. The optical interface of claim 1, wherein the lens is oriented such that the chief ray is substantially overlapping an optical axis of the lens.
- 5. The optical interface of claim 1, further comprising a lens holder on which the lens is mounted.
- 6. The optical interface of claim 1, wherein the laser is an edge emitting laser.
- 7. The optical interface of claim 1, wherein the laser and the mirror are mounted substantially flat on a TO header, and wherein an angle of the mirror is used to reflect the chief ray toward the core of the optical fiber.
- 8. The optical interface of claim 7, wherein an angle of the slanted end is approximately 8 degrees and the angle of the mirror is approximately 47 degrees.
- 9. The optical interface of claim 7, wherein an angle of the slanted end is approximately −8 degrees and the angle of the mirror is approximately 43 degrees.
- 10. The optical interface of claim 1, wherein the laser and the mirror are mounted at a tilt angle on a TO header, and wherein the tilt angle is used to direct the chief ray to the core of the optical fiber.
- 11. The optical interface of claim 10, wherein an angle of the mirror is approximately 45 degrees.
- 12. The optical interface of claim 10, wherein an angle of the mirror is approximately 54.7 degrees.
- 13. The optical interface of claim 1, wherein the TO header is tilted with respect to the optical fiber to direct the chief ray to the core of the optical fiber.
- 14. The optical interface of claim 1, further comprising an LD isolator disposed between the lens and said optical fiber.
- 15. An optical assembly comprising:
an optical fiber having a core and an end; a laser; a mirror capable of receiving an optical output of the laser and of reflecting the optical output to the end of the optical fiber such that a chief ray of the optical output is incident on the core of the optical fiber; and a lens disposed between the mirror and the optical fiber, the lens being located such that the chief ray of the optical output traverses a center of the lens.
- 16. The optical assembly of claim 15, wherein said end of the optical fiber is slanted.
- 17. The optical assembly of claim 15, wherein the lens comprises a ball lens.
- 18. The optical assembly of claim 15, wherein the lens is oriented such that the chief ray is substantially overlapping an optical axis of the lens.
- 19. The optical assembly of claim 15, further comprising a lens holder on which the lens is mounted.
- 20. The optical assembly of claim 15, wherein the laser is a DFB (distributed feedback) laser or an FP (Fabrey-Perot) laser.
- 21. The optical assembly of claim 15, further comprising a TO header, wherein the laser and the mirror are mounted substantially flat on the TO header, and wherein an angle of the mirror is used to reflect the chief ray toward the core of the optical fiber.
- 22. The optical assembly of claim 15, further comprising a TO header, wherein the laser and the mirror are mounted at a tilt angle on the TO header, and wherein the tilt angle is used to direct the chief ray to the core of the optical fiber.
- 23. The optical assembly of claim 15, wherein the TO header is tilted with respect to the optical fiber to direct the chief ray to the core of the optical fiber.
- 24. The optical assembly of claim 15, further comprising an LD isolator disposed between the lens and said optical fiber.
- 25. A method of providing an optical output from a laser to an end of an optical fiber having a core, the method comprising:
placing a mirror in an optical path between the laser and said end of the optical fiber such that a chief ray of the optical output of the laser is incident on the core of the optical fiber at an angle; and placing a lens between the mirror and said end of the optical fiber such that the chief ray of the optical output is substantially aligned with an optical axis of the lens.
- 26. The method of claim 25, wherein said end of the optical fiber is slanted.
- 27. In an optical assembly comprising an optical fiber and an opto-electronic device, a method of improving coupling efficiency between the optical fiber and the opto-electronic device, the method comprising:
slanting an edge of the optical fiber that optically interfaces with the opto-electronic device; and placing a lens between the optical fiber and the opto-electronic device such that a chief ray of an optical signal between the optical fiber and the opto-electronic device is substantially aligned with an optical axis of the lens, thereby reducing off-axis aberration.
- 28. The method of claim 27, further comprising placing a mirror between the opto-electronic device and the lens such that the chief ray of the optical signal is reflected by the mirror towards the lens.
- 29. The method of claim 27, wherein the off-axis aberration comprises at least one of coma and astigmatism.
- 30. The method of claim 27, wherein the opto-electronic device comprises a laser capable of generating the optical signal.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application contains subject matter related to the subject matter disclosed in a commonly owned U.S. patent application entitled “A TO-Packaged Optic-Fiber Receiving Interface and Method” (Attorney Docket No. 50155/SAH/E349) filed on the same day.