Patent US5377287A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US5377287A
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Fiber optic corporate power divider/combiner and method
Assignee: Raytheon Co
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Filing: 1991-12-19
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Granted: 1994-12-27
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Expires: 2011-12-19
Abstract
Abstract A fiber optic corporate power divider/combiner for use in fiber optic systems is provided. When functioning as an optical divider, the invention includes a dielectric lens for converting incoming optical energy from a divergent spherical wave to a plane wave. A micro-lens array in optical alignment with the dielectric lens functions to partition and focus the plane wave to provide a coherent phase optical dot pattern. A fiber bundle is provided to receive and uniformly distribute the coherent phase optical dot pattern. When functioning as an optical combiner, the invention includes the micro-lens array to convert an incoming coherent phase optical dot pattern from a plurality of divergent spherical waves to a plane wave. The dielectric lens optically aligned with the micro-lens array receives and converts the plane wave to a convergent spherical wave and a single optical fiber receives and transforms the convergent spherical wave into parallel rays for transmission. In a preferred embodiment, the dielectric lens comprises a single hyperbolic lens which is in juxtaposition to a plurality of hyperbolic lenses forming the micro-lens array. The number of lenses in the micro-lens array is equal to the number of optical fibers in the bundle for permitting optimum transmission of optical energy.
Inventors
- 👤 Jar J. Lee
- 👤 George I. Tsuda
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 05:29
CPC Classifications
G; G02; G02B; G02B6/00; G02B6/24; G02B6/26; G02B6/28; G02B6/2804; G02B6/2848
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 16
Claim 1
Independent Claim
89 words
An optical divider comprising: dielectric lens means for converting incoming optical energy from a divergent spherical wave to a plane wave; micro-lens means in optical alignment with said dielectric lens means for partitioning and focusing said plane wave to provide a coherent phase optical dot pattern; and means for receiving and uniformly distributing said coherent phase optical dot pattern; wherein said micro-lens means comprises a plurality of concentrically positioned micro-lenses with the outer concentric lenses being larger than the inner concentric lenses to compensate for non-uniform optical power density.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
89 words
An optical divider comprising: dielectric lens means for converting incoming optical energy from a divergent spherical wave to a plane wave; micro-lens means in optical alignment with said dielectric lens means for partitioning and focusing said plane wave to provide a coherent phase optical dot pattern; and means for receiving and uniformly distributing said coherent phase optical dot pattern; wherein said micro-lens means comprises a plurality of concentrically positioned micro-lenses with the outer concentric lenses being larger than the inner concentric lenses to compensate for non-uniform optical power density.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
15 words
The optical divider of claim 1 wherein said dielectric lens means comprises a hyperbolic lens.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
26 words
The optical divider of claim 2 wherein said hyperbolic lens includes a hyperbolic surface on a first side and a flat surface on a second side.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
14 words
The optical divider of claim 1 wherein said micro-lens means comprises a micro-lens array.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
35 words
The optical divider of claim 4 wherein said micro-lens array comprises a plurality of equally sized hyperbolic lenses each having a hyperbolic surface on a first side and a flat surface on a second side.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
21 words
The optical divider of claim 1 wherein said optical fiber means includes a concave spherical end to diverge said optical energy.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
18 words
The optical divider of claim 1 wherein said receiving and distributing means comprises a bundle of optical fibers.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
88 words
An optical combiner comprising: micro-lens means for converting an incoming coherent phase optical dot pattern from a plurality of divergent spherical waves to a plane wave; dielectric lens means in optical alignment with said micro-lens means to receive and convert said plane wave to a convergent spherical wave; and means for receiving and transmitting said convergent spherical wave; wherein said micro-lens means comprises a plurality of concentrically positioned micro-lenses with the outer concentric lenses being larger than the inner concentric lenses to compensate for non-uniform optical power density.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
88 words
An optical combiner comprising: micro-lens means for converting an incoming coherent phase optical dot pattern from a plurality of divergent spherical waves to a plane wave; dielectric lens means in optical alignment with said micro-lens means to receive and convert said plane wave to a convergent spherical wave; and means for receiving and transmitting said convergent spherical wave; wherein said micro-lens means comprises a plurality of concentrically positioned micro-lenses with the outer concentric lenses being larger than the inner concentric lenses to compensate for non-uniform optical power density.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
14 words
The optical combiner of claim 8 wherein said micro-lens means comprises a micro-lens array.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
35 words
The optical combiner of claim 9 wherein said micro-lens array comprises a plurality of equally sized hyperbolic lenses each having a hyperbolic surface on a first side and a flat surface on a second side.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
15 words
The optical combiner of claim 8 wherein said dielectric lens means comprises a hyperbolic lens.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
26 words
The optical combiner of claim 11 wherein said hyperbolic lens includes a hyperbolic surface on a first side and a flat surface on a second side.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
32 words
The optical combiner of claim 8 wherein each fiber of said bundle of optical fibers includes a concave spherical end to diverge the optical energy of said coherent phase optical dot pattern.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
16 words
The optical combiner of claim 8 wherein said receiving and transmitting means comprises an optical fiber.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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