Optical fiber multiplexer

Claim 1

Optical multiplexer comprising: at least three light waveguides each having an end face, an index of refraction and an optical axis, with the optical axes of the waveguides approximately intersecting at at least one point on an end face of one of said waveguides; an optical layer defined on the end face of said one waveguide for partly reflecting and partly transmitting light coming from the exterior of said one waveguide into said one waveguide; the end face of said one waveguide forming an angle γ with the optical axis of said one waveguide, so that a light beam coming from outside said one waveguide and incident on its end face is coupled to said one waveguide; said end faces of said at least three waveguides being arranged in spaced apart relation and at least partly bounding an interventing space which has an optical index of refraction which is different from that of said one waveguide; and two of said waveguides without said optical layer having end faces fused into optical lenses and positioned at an optical distance from each other to minimize coupling losses of light transmitted through said space, at least three waveguides being combined in an integrated optical constructional unit, each said waveguide comprising an optical fiber waveguide having a core of a first diameter for coupling and conducting light extending along the axis thereof and a shell surrounding said core and having a second larger diameter, the diameter of each said optical lens being between that of its said core and its said shell.