Patent EP0083843B1 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
EP0083843B1
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Low dispersion, low-loss single-mode optical waveguide
Assignee: Corning Glass Works
•
Filing: 1982-12-06
•
Granted: 1989-09-27
•
Expires: 2002-12-06
Abstract
Abstract Disclosed is an optical waveguide fiber having a core (10, 12, 14) surrounded by a layer (16) of cladding material. The core is characterized in that it includes a region (14) of depressed refractive index. The inner radius ai of this region (14) is greater than zero, and the outer radius ao thereof is less than the core radius. By appropriately selecting the core index depression characteristics such as radial location, width, depth and shape, a fiber having the desired wave guide dispersion characteristics can be designed. Dispersion minimization over a wide wavelength range can be achieved, without adverse affect on system loss.
Inventors
- 👤 Venkata Adiseshaiah Bhagavatula
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-06 06:06
CPC Classifications
G; G02; G02B; G02B6/00; G02B6/02; G02B6/02214; G02B6/02219; G02B6/02228; G02B6/02238; G02B6/028; G02B6/0286; G02B6/036; G02B6/03616; G02B6/03638; G02B6/03644; G02B6/03661; G02B6/03666; G02B6/02276
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 14
Claim 1
Independent Claim
143 words
A single-mode optical waveguide comprising a core (10, 12, 14; 19a, 19b, 22, 24, 30, 32) of transparent material having a maximum refractive index n 1 and a radius a, and a layer of transparent cladding material (16; 20,21; 26, 28) on the outer surface of said core, the refractive index n 2 of said cladding being less than n 1 , said waveguide being characterized in that said core includes a region (14, 22, 30, 32) of depressed refractive index, the inner radius a, of said region (14, 22, 30, 32) being greater than zero and the maximum radius a o of said region (14, 22, 30, 32) being less than a, the values of n 1 , n 2 , a and a o being such that a single single-mode signal can be simultaneously propagated through all regions of said core.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
143 words
A single-mode optical waveguide comprising a core (10, 12, 14; 19a, 19b, 22, 24, 30, 32) of transparent material having a maximum refractive index n 1 and a radius a, and a layer of transparent cladding material (16; 20,21; 26, 28) on the outer surface of said core, the refractive index n 2 of said cladding being less than n 1 , said waveguide being characterized in that said core includes a region (14, 22, 30, 32) of depressed refractive index, the inner radius a, of said region (14, 22, 30, 32) being greater than zero and the maximum radius a o of said region (14, 22, 30, 32) being less than a, the values of n 1 , n 2 , a and a o being such that a single single-mode signal can be simultaneously propagated through all regions of said core.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
36 words
An optical waveguide in accordance with claim 1 wherein the quantity is no greater than about 2.0, where n 3 is the minimum refractive index of said region (14, 22, 30, 32) of depressed refractive index.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
38 words
An optical waveguide in accordance with claim 2 wherein said core has a substantially uniform refractive index in inner and outer regions (19a, 19b) wherein the radius is between zero and a and between a o and a.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
40 words
An optical waveguide in accordance with claim 2 wherein said core has a refractive index which is radially inhomogeneous in inner and outer regions (24) wherein the radius is between zero and a 1 and between a o and a.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
42 words
An optical waveguide in accordance with claim 4 wherein the refractive index of at least the inner region of said core varies with the radius r in accordance with the equation wherein a is a parameter between zero and infinity, and wherein
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
29 words
An optical waveguide in accordance with claim 5 wherein the refractive index of both the inner and outer regions (24) of said core varies in accordance with the equation
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
111 words
A waveguide according to claim 1, comprising a centrally located region having a refractive index n i and radius a, surrounded by first and second regions of increasing radius having the following refractive indices and radii (n 3 , a o ) and (n 1 ', a), respectively, wherein and said region of radius a being surrounded by cladding comprising an inner, depressed cladding region having a refractive index n 2 and radius r de p. clad and an outer cladding region having a refractive index n clad and radius r clad , wherein and the dispersion characteristics of said waveguide being determined by all regions of said core and cladding.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
18 words
A waveguide according to claim 7, wherein the outer cladding region is the outer region of said waveguide.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
100 words
A waveguide in accordance with claim 1, wherein the reference index profile of said single-mode waveguide, including the refractive indices n, and n 2 and the radii a,, a o and a, is such that: (a) said waveguide is relatively free from microbending loss, and (b) said waveguide exhibits a waveguide dispersion characteristic which is such that: (1) waveguide dispersion is relatively uniform with respect to wavelength so that the waveguide is insensitive to manufacturing tolerances; and (2) waveguide dispersion is relatively large at wavelengths greater than 1400 nm so that large values of material dispersion can be completely cancelled.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
46 words
A waveguide in accordance with claim 1 wherein the refractive index profile of said single mode waveguide is such that said waveguide exhibits low total dispersion over a wide band of wavelengths which includes the zero material dispersion wavelength and is relatively free from microbending loss.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
81 words
A waveguide in accordance with claim 2, wherein said region (30, 32) of depressed refractive index separates said core into a centrally located region (24) having a maximum refractive index n 1 and a second annular region (24) having a refractive index greater than n 3 , the refractive index of said centrally located region decreasing with increasing radius, said cladding material having a refractive index n 2 which is less than the refractive index of said second, annular region (24).
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
31 words
A waveguide in accordance with claim 11, wherein said cladding material of refractive index n 2 is surrounded by an outer cladding having a refractive index greater than n 2 .
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
105 words
A waveguide in accordance with claim 1, where said region of depressed refractive index separates said core into an inner region having a maximum refractive index n 1 and an outer region (19b) of refractive index less than n 1 , said cladding comprising an outer region having a refractive index n clad which is less than that of the outer region of said core and a region between said core and said cladding having a refractive index n 2 that is less than n clad , the refractive index n 3 of said region of depressed refractive index being less than n 2 .
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
Maintenance schedule is calculated for granted US utility patents.