EP0030108A1
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Improvements in or relating to the coupling of dielectric optical waveguides
Assignee: Post Office
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Filing: 1980-11-21
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2000-11-21
Abstract
Abstract A pair of optical fibres 16, 19 which are to be joined are located with their end portions in coupling elements 15, 18 one of which is transparent to light. The coupling elements are located such that the ends of the fibres are in approximate alignment. Light is transmitted along one fibre 16 so that it is received by the fibre 19 in the transparent coupling element. Light which is not coupled into the core of the fibre 19 is sensed by a sensor 20 and the relative position of the fibres is adjusted until the level of sensed light is a minimum. The sensing of the light is carried out at positions spaced angularly about the waveguide so that an indication of the direction of any misalignment is obtained. The coupling elements are then secured in this position. The adjustment of the fibres can be carried out using a linear translation stage 10 and a microprocessor 25 which controls the stage 10 in accordance with signals from the sensor 20.
Inventors
- 👤 Michael Harry Reeve
- 👤 Colin Anderson Millar
- 👤 David Brian Payne
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-25 02:39
CPC Classifications
G; G02; G02B; G02B6/00; G02B6/24; G02B6/36; G02B6/38; G02B6/3801; G02B6/3803; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S359/00; Y10S359/90
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 6
Claim 1
Independent Claim
134 words
A method of coupling dielectric optical waveguides which comprises locating each optical waveguide in a coupling element, at least one of said coupling elements being transparent to light, locating said elements such that the waveguides are in approximate axial alignment, transmitting light along one of said waveguides so that it is received by the waveguide in a transparent coupling element, and sensing the light which is not coupled into the core, of said receiving waveguide, characterised in that said sensing is carried out at positions spaced angularly about that waveguide to provide an indication of the direction of any misalignment of said waveguides, and the method includes the step of adjusting the relative position of said waveguides until the level of sensed light is a minimum, and securing the coupling elements in that position.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
134 words
A method of coupling dielectric optical waveguides which comprises locating each optical waveguide in a coupling element, at least one of said coupling elements being transparent to light, locating said elements such that the waveguides are in approximate axial alignment, transmitting light along one of said waveguides so that it is received by the waveguide in a transparent coupling element, and sensing the light which is not coupled into the core, of said receiving waveguide, characterised in that said sensing is carried out at positions spaced angularly about that waveguide to provide an indication of the direction of any misalignment of said waveguides, and the method includes the step of adjusting the relative position of said waveguides until the level of sensed light is a minimum, and securing the coupling elements in that position.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
172 words
Apparatus for carrying out the method of claim 1 comprises first mounting means (10) for mounting a first dielectric optical waveguide (16) in a first coupling element (15), second mounting means for mounting second dielectric optical waveguide (19) in a second coupling element (18) such that it is approximately aligned axially with the first waveguide, one of said mounting means (10) being movable relative to the other along perpendicular axes in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the other mounting means, and sensing means (20) for sensing light not coupled into one waveguide when it is transmitted from the other waveguide, characterised in that said sensing means (20) is capable of sensing light at positions spaced angularly about the waveguide (19) to provide an indication of the direction of any misalignment of said waveguides and the apparatus includes means (23, 24, 25) operative in response to signals from said sensing means to cause the position of said movable mounting means (10) to move along one or other of said perpendicular axes.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
26 words
Apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein the movable mounting means (10) includes a linear translation stage which is movable by stepping motors (11, 12, 14).
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
15 words
Apparatus as claimed in claim 3 wherein the sensing means (20) comprises a quadrature diode.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
69 words
Apparatus as claimed in claim 4 wherein the quadrature diode (20) has four outputs which are connected in pairs to two differential amplifiers (23, 24), the output from each amplifier being fed to a microprocessor (25) which is arranged to produce signals for actuating said stepping motors (11, 12, 14) to cause the stepping motors to move said translation stage such that the diode output reduces to a minimum.
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