Patent US5406410A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US5406410A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Optical fibre amplifier and laser
Assignee: IPG Photonics Corp
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Filing: 1993-05-03
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Granted: 1995-04-11
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Expires: 2013-05-03
Abstract
Abstract An optical fibre amplifier comprises a thulium-doped optical fibre pumped at 790 nm by a semi-conductor diode laser coupled to the fibre via optical fibre coupler. The amplifier is optically coupled in series to a pair of systems fibres to provide amplification to optical signals.
Inventors
- 👤 David C. Hanna
- 👤 Jeremy N. Carter
- 👤 Anne C. Tropper
- 👤 Richard G. Smart
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-08 17:45
CPC Classifications
H; H01; H01S; H01S3/00; H01S3/05; H01S3/06; H01S3/063; H01S3/067; H01S3/06708; H01S3/09; H01S3/091; H01S3/094; H01S3/094003; H01S3/14; H01S3/16; H01S3/17; H01S3/173; H04; H04B; H04B10/00; H04B10/25
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 19
Claim 1
Independent Claim
52 words
An optical amplifier for amplifying input light signals, said amplifier comprising: a fluorozirconate optical fibre having its core doped with Tm 3+ , and pump means for providing optical pump power to said fibre to raise Tm 3+ ions therein directly to the upper Stark levels of the 3 F 4 level.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
52 words
An optical amplifier for amplifying input light signals, said amplifier comprising: a fluorozirconate optical fibre having its core doped with Tm 3+ , and pump means for providing optical pump power to said fibre to raise Tm 3+ ions therein directly to the upper Stark levels of the 3 F 4 level.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
16 words
An optical amplifier as in claim 1, in which the pump means includes a diode laser.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
16 words
An optical amplifier as in claim 2, in which the diode laser is an AlGaAs laser.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
36 words
An optical amplifier as in claim 1 in which the material of the optical fibre produces a non-radiative, multiphonon decay rate out of the 3 F 4 level that is negligible compared to the radiative rate.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
17 words
An optical amplifier as in claim 4, in which the optical fibre material comprises a ZBLANP composition.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
23 words
An optical amplifier as in claim 1 in which the optical fibre is doped with about 1000 ppm weight of Tm 3+ .
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
79 words
A laser comprising: a resonant cavity defined by reflection means and configured to resonate at the wavelength of the 3 F 4 - 3 H 6 transition, and an optical amplifier within the resonant cavity, the optical amplifier including a fluorozirconate optical fibre having its core doped with Tm 3+ and pump means for providing optical pump power to said fibre to raise Tm 3+ ions therein directly to the upper Stark levels of the 3 F 4 level.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
79 words
A laser comprising: a resonant cavity defined by reflection means and configured to resonate at the wavelength of the 3 F 4 - 3 H 6 transition, and an optical amplifier within the resonant cavity, the optical amplifier including a fluorozirconate optical fibre having its core doped with Tm 3+ and pump means for providing optical pump power to said fibre to raise Tm 3+ ions therein directly to the upper Stark levels of the 3 F 4 level.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
17 words
A laser as in claim 7, in which the reflection means comprise a pair of dielectric mirrors.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
24 words
A laser as in claim 8, in which one of the mirrors has a reflectivity greater than 99% for wavelengths greater than 805 nm.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
24 words
A laser as in claim 9, in which said one mirror has a steep transmission edge between 790 nm and 800 nm in air.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
35 words
A laser as in claim 9, in which both mirrors have a reflectivity greater than 99% for wavelengths greater than 805 nm and a steep transmission edge between 790 nm and 800 nm in air.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
16 words
A laser as in claim 11, in which the optical pump power is at 777 nm.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
32 words
A laser as in claim 10, and in which the other mirror has a reflectivity in air of about 90%, 30% and 95% at 777 nm, 805 nm and 820 nm respectively.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
74 words
An optical communication system comprising an optical fibre communications network having an optical signal transmission fibre optically coupled into an optical amplifier for amplifying optical signals from the transmission fibre, said optical amplifier including a fluorozirconate optical fibre having its core doped with Tm 3+ and pump means for providing optical pump power to said fibre to raise Tm 3+ ions therein directly to the upper Stark levels of the 3 F 4 level.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
74 words
An optical communication system comprising an optical fibre communications network having an optical signal transmission fibre optically coupled into an optical amplifier for amplifying optical signals from the transmission fibre, said optical amplifier including a fluorozirconate optical fibre having its core doped with Tm 3+ and pump means for providing optical pump power to said fibre to raise Tm 3+ ions therein directly to the upper Stark levels of the 3 F 4 level.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
99 words
An optical communication system comprising: an optical fibre communications network having an optical signal transmission fibre optically coupled to receive optical signals emanating from a laser; said laser including a fluorozirconate optical fibre having its core doped with Tm 3+ and pump means for providing optical pump power to said fibre to raise Tm 3+ ions therein directly to the upper Stark levels of the 3 F 4 level, said doped fibre being disposed within a resonant cavity defined by reflection means and configured to resonate at the wavelength of the 3 F 4 - 3 H 6 transition.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
99 words
An optical communication system comprising: an optical fibre communications network having an optical signal transmission fibre optically coupled to receive optical signals emanating from a laser; said laser including a fluorozirconate optical fibre having its core doped with Tm 3+ and pump means for providing optical pump power to said fibre to raise Tm 3+ ions therein directly to the upper Stark levels of the 3 F 4 level, said doped fibre being disposed within a resonant cavity defined by reflection means and configured to resonate at the wavelength of the 3 F 4 - 3 H 6 transition.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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