Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G02—OPTICS
  • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
  • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
  • G02B6/24—Coupling light guides
  • G02B6/26—Optical coupling means
  • G02B6/28—Optical coupling means having data bus means, i.e. plural waveguides interconnected and providing an inherently bidirectional system by mixing and splitting signals
  • G02B6/293—Optical coupling means having data bus means, i.e. plural waveguides interconnected and providing an inherently bidirectional system by mixing and splitting signals with wavelength selective means
  • G02B6/29379—Optical coupling means having data bus means, i.e. plural waveguides interconnected and providing an inherently bidirectional system by mixing and splitting signals with wavelength selective means characterised by the function or use of the complete device
  • G02B6/2938—Optical coupling means having data bus means, i.e. plural waveguides interconnected and providing an inherently bidirectional system by mixing and splitting signals with wavelength selective means characterised by the function or use of the complete device for multiplexing or demultiplexing, i.e. combining or separating wavelengths, e.g. 1xN, NxM
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G02—OPTICS
  • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
  • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
  • G02B6/24—Coupling light guides
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G02—OPTICS
  • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
  • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
  • G02B6/24—Coupling light guides
  • G02B6/26—Optical coupling means
  • G02B6/262—Optical details of coupling light into, or out of, or between fibre ends, e.g. special fibre end shapes or associated optical elements
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G02—OPTICS
  • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
  • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
  • G02B6/24—Coupling light guides
  • G02B6/26—Optical coupling means
  • G02B6/28—Optical coupling means having data bus means, i.e. plural waveguides interconnected and providing an inherently bidirectional system by mixing and splitting signals
  • G02B6/293—Optical coupling means having data bus means, i.e. plural waveguides interconnected and providing an inherently bidirectional system by mixing and splitting signals with wavelength selective means
  • G02B6/29346—Optical coupling means having data bus means, i.e. plural waveguides interconnected and providing an inherently bidirectional system by mixing and splitting signals with wavelength selective means operating by wave or beam interference
  • G02B6/29361—Interference filters, e.g. multilayer coatings, thin film filters, dichroic splitters or mirrors based on multilayers, WDM filters
  • G02B6/29362—Serial cascade of filters or filtering operations, e.g. for a large number of channels
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
  • H04B—TRANSMISSION
  • H04B10/00—Transmission systems employing electromagnetic waves other than radio-waves, e.g. infrared, visible or ultraviolet light, or employing corpuscular radiation, e.g. quantum communication
  • H04B10/25—Arrangements specific to fibre transmission
  • H04B10/2581—Multimode transmission

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a method for multiplexing information transmission channels by light wave by means of a single index-hopping optical fiber and an optical device for implementing said method.
• index-hopping optical fiber is meant in what follows that the fiber is made of a material of "core" with a refraction index of light which is substantially uniform, said core being surrounded by an index sheath of refraction also substantially uniform but lower than that of the heart.
• the method according to the invention has many advantages from this point of view.
• the light used has the same wavelength for all the multiplexing channels.
• the number of propagation modes is limited, so that this results in an increase in the bandwidth in each channel.
• the method is based on the conservation for each ray of light of its angle with the axis of the fiber during its propagation within the fiber.
• the invention therefore thinks of forming transmission channels inside the fiber using rays of light grouped according to the values of their angle with the axis of the fiber, each channel being provided with means of injection of light at the fiber input and output reception means specific to these angle values.
• the value of the angle of the rays is between two values which are fairly close to each other, so that the radii relating to each transmission channel are included at every point of the fiber between two cones having for common vertex said point and of revolution about a same axis parallel to the axis of the fiber, their angle at the apex having respectively the value of one of the two values said to be quite close.
• the pairs of cones relating to each transmission path fit into each other, the values of angles at the top relating to each pair being chosen so that said pairs of cones are juxtaposed or , better, separated by empty spaces of active radiation.
• the device for implementing the method proposed by the invention comprises, in addition to an index hopping fiber, at each end of the latter, a multi-axis optic formed of elementary optics each having a single axis, the number of axes being equal to the number of transmission channels in the fiber, the elementary optics forming from the end of the fiber, in object space, as many conjugates as there are axes.
• Each elementary optic has an annular pupil whose geometric outline is centered on the axis of the fiber, which pupil fixes the effective opening fraction of each transmission path.
• the annular pupils of the set of elementary optics overlap with or without juxtaposition in each other so that, all together, they substantially fill the total pupil of the fiber.
• light sources are placed on the conjugates of the entry face of the fiber, which sources each send in one of the useful flux paths through the pupil corresponding ring finger.
• receivers replace the light sources on the conjugates of the fiber output face with each of the elementary optics.
• the multi-axis optic has a zoned structure which consists of the concentric assembly of lenticular rings (each ring constituting an elementary optic) whose optical centers are distinct, the zoned structure itself playing the role of the pupil of this multi-axis optic.
• the mechanical center of the lenticular rings is on the axis of the fiber.
• the sources are placed in coincidence, with the conjugates of the entry face of the fiber determined by the various optical centers, that is to say the various lenticular rings.
• receivers are placed in the same locations as the sources in the injection device.
• the multi-axis optics in fact comprises two parts, namely a first consisting of one or more lenses centered on a single axis followed by a second consisting of an element with a multi-axis zoned structure, similar to that used in the first embodiment, which makes it possible to distribute the convergence necessary for the training images on several elements and thus more easily master geometric aberrations in image formation.
• the multi-axis optics further comprises two parts, namely a first part having all the optical convergence and centered on a single axis, and a second part with a zoned structure which, unlike that according to the second embodiment, does not consist of lenticular rings having their own optical power but of prismatic blade rings, of different orientations, ensuring in this way, by the principle of deflection, the multiplication of the optical axis.
• the converging and zoned parts are distinct, while according to a second variant, the zoned part is included in the converging part.
• the zoned part can be located in particular in the optical space inside the converging part comprising at least two elements, at the place where the image of the fiber entry face is rejected at the 'infinite.
• the element with a zoned structure can be produced by holographic methods which assure it the same properties and characteristics as the zone elements used. in the previous embodiments.
• the injection optic can be a catoptric optic consisting for example of annular parts of concave mirrors nested one inside the other, having their centers of curvature not merged, while the mechanical centers of the annular parts are combined and located on the axis of the fiber.
• This arrangement ensures, for each reflecting ring, a distinct image of the fiber on which the source or the receiver corresponding to one of the different channels are installed.
• the mirrors are arranged so as to form the images of the sources or receptors at magnification -1 on the fiber, which has the advantage of obtaining aplanatic images.
• the multi-axis optic is catadioptric, therefore consisting of a reflecting part and a refractive part, one of the two being able to be used for the production of the element with a zoned structure , the combination of reflection and refraction being able to be used for obtaining very sharp images at a clearly different magnification from -1, which makes it possible to better physically separate the location of the sources relative to the fiber.
• the invention also proposes the combination of the angular multiplexing indicated above with the multiplexing of the known art by multiplying the number of spectral bands used.
• Figure 1 a diagram showing the principle of the multiplexing method according to the invention.
• Figure 2 a sectional view, through its plane of symmetry, of a first embodiment of the device for implementing this method
• Figure 3 a sectional view, through its plane of symmetry, of second embodiment of the device for implementing this method.
• Figure 4 a sectional view, through its plane of symmetry, of a third embodiment of the device for implementing this method
• Figure 5 a sectional view, through its plane of symmetry, of a fourth embodiment .
• Figure 6 a sectional view, by its plane of symmetry, of an embodiment combining multiplexing by multiplying the number of spectral bands of light used with the multiplexing according to Figure 1.
• 1U a index hopping fiber, limited, for simplicity, to the core material.
• the axis of this fiber is 11, one of its faces, called the entry thereafter, is 12.
• cones fit into each other, their half angle at the top descending from the cone 13 to the cone 17, that of the cone 13 being at most equal to the acceptance angle or said opening of the fiber.
• These cones delimit disjointed or at most juxtaposed fractions of opening of the fiber, with know the opening fractions between the cones 13 and 14 respectively then 15 and 16 and inside the cone 17.
• the fiber 10 is provided at the inlet with directional injection means of three independent flows each filling at each point of the inlet one of the fractions of defined angular opening and, at the outlet , independent means of directional reception of these three flows. It is thus established in this case, within the same fiber, three independent transmission channels. It goes without saying that the number of achievable channels is a function of the angular opening fraction of the fiber assigned to each channel.
• FIG. 2 represents a first embodiment.
• the fiber 10 with its axis 11 and its face input 12.
• the fiber is provided with a multi-axis optic with a zoned structure constituted by several lenticular elements 30, 31, 32, namely 30 a circular element and 31, 32 of the annular elements. All the elements are mechanically centered on the axis 11 of the fiber. Their optical centers are respectively points 33, 34, 35.
• the pupil of the optics is materialized by its zoned structure whose external diameter is dimensioned so that it can be substantially confused with that of the pupil of the fiber, that is to say that its radius is seen from the entry face of the fiber at an angle substantially equal to the opening angle of the fiber.
• the lenticular elements 30, 31, 32 divide the pupil into several disjointed transparent parts, namely respectively the central circular part 36 and the annular parts 37, 38, separated by opaque parts 19, 40, these different parts being centered on the center of the pupil, that is to say on the axis of the fiber.
• the conjugate images of the input face 12 by each of the elements 30, 31, 32 are distinct, respectively 41, 42, 43.
• the lenticular elements are dimensioned and positioned so that the conjugate in reverse return of any of the images 41, 42, 43 by a lenticular element of the multi-axis optics other than that which gives it birth has no common part with the input face 12.
• the fiber does not receives from each of the light sources arranged according to the conjugates 41, 42, 43 respectively and emitting in the direction of the fiber, that the flux having passed through the lenticular element respectively 30, 31, 32 and delimited by the pupil part respectively 36, 37, 38, the three streams received in the fiber being each contained in one of the angular opening fractions based on these parts of pupils, therefore disjoint.
• These angular opening fractions are in FIG. 2 those of the beams of revolution respectively 44, 45, 46 around the axis of the fiber and coming from the sources respectively 41, 42, 43, the beam 45 being shown completely from the source 42 and the beams 44, 46 only on the fiber side for clarity of the drawing.
• Multi-axis optics analogous to that previously described, is placed at the fiber outlet, head to tail with respect to the input, with reference to the direction of the light and the axis of the fiber, receivers being placed at the places and places of the sources. Each receiver receives one of the beams without destroying the angular differentiation between the three beams produced at the input, a transmission system with three independent channels being thus produced.
• FIG. 3 represents a second embodiment of the device for implementing the method according to the invention little different, in principle, from the first embodiment.
• the multi-axis optics at the input and at the output, comprises, in addition to the element with a zoned structure of the first mode described above, a lens or set of lenses having the fiber axis as optical axis.
• this lens is lens 47.
• the convergence of this lens allows, more easily than with the single zone element, to reach the required aperture and to overcome the problems of geometric aberration of image formation .
• the lens 47 in addition to the lens 47, we find all the other elements of Figure 2 with the same numerical references.
• the device has three independent paths taken by the beams 44, 45, 46 respectively, originating from the sources 41, 42, 43 respectively.
• FIG. 4 represents a third embodiment of the device for implementing the method, the multi-axis optics of which comprises the converging element 47, centered on the axis 11 of the fiber and a zone element which, instead of being formed of lenticular elements as in FIG. 2, is formed, on the one hand, in the form of prismatic rings of different orientations 52 and 53 and, on the other hand, of the orifice 51 of the ring 52 , rings and orifice being centered on the axis 11 of the fiber.
• the different orientations of the prisms ensure the formation of the three different conjugates 41, 42, 43 of the entry face 12 of the fiber by the set of optics, namely, the conjugate 41 through the orifice 51 and the conjugates 42, 43 through the prismatic rings respectively 52 and 53.
• three independent light sources arranged respectively according to 41, 42, 43, emitting three independent fluxes in the 'fiber under the three disjoint fiber opening fractions based respectively on the central part of pupil 51 and the transparent annular pupil parts 54 and 55 separated by the annular opaque parts 39 and 40, said independent flows being received at the fiber outlet as already said by an optic analogous to that of the input and provided with receivers. All of these embodiments can do. subject to variations.
• the convergent element consists of several lenses and the lenticular zone element is included between two of these lenses.
• the same position is adopted for the prismatic zone element. More particularly,. the prismatic zone element is placed in the converging element at the point where the image of the entry face of the fiber is rejected to infinity so as to make the prismatic element work in parallel beam, c that is to say without geometric aberration.
• the area element of the multi-axis optics used is an element obtained by holographic methods.
• FIG. 5 represents a fifth embodiment of the device for implementing the method.
• This figure shows the fiber 10 with axis 11 and input face 12.
• the multi-axis optics at each end of the fiber is of the catoptric type with zoned structure made up of concave mirrors, namely, a central mirror and around thereof, annular mirrors nested one inside the other, their mechanical centers being merged and located on the axis 11 of the fiber, while their centers of curvature, on the contrary, are neither confused nor situated on the axis fiber.
• the number of mirrors has been reduced to two, namely, on the fiber entry side, the mirrors 60 and 61 respectively.
• the conjugates of the face 12 by these mirrors are respectively 62 and 63.
• the conjugates of 62 and 63 by the mirrors respectively 61 and 60 are distant from 12, so that light sources placed on 62 and 63 send light, in the fiber, only according to the two disjoint fractions of the opening of the fiber corresponding to the beams of revolution around the axis of the fiber and limited by the spokes respectively double arrow 64 and 65 and simple arrow on the one hand 66, 67 and on the other hand 68, 69 based on the mirrors respectively 60 and 61, the flows conveyed in the beams being independent.
• the multi-axis optics at the fiber output identical to that at the input but shown head to tail are shown.
• the mirrors are arranged so that the images of the sources or receivers on the fiber are formed at magnification -1, so that said images are aplanatic.
• the multi-axis optics is catadioptric, therefore consisting of a reflecting part and a refractive part, the zoned structure achieving the fractionation of the angular opening of the fiber being incorporated in one or the other of the parts.
• this combination of reflection and refraction is used to ensure that the formation of the images of the sources on the fiber is done with a markedly different magnification from -1, which allows during the construction of the optics. locate the sources far enough from the fiber.
• the invention plans to increase the number of channels transmitted by combining the multiplexing of the known art by multiplying the number of wavelengths of light used with the angular multiplexing described above.
• a single multi-axis optic with a structure identical to one of those described above is used at each end of the fiber, while the light sources and the receivers each comprise several juxtaposed elements, ie each emitting light in one of the wavelengths chosen, or each receiving one of these wavelengths.
• FIG. 6 shows schematically the optical arrangement relating to this case when using three wavelengths.
• the fiber 10 of axis 11 is found there.
• At the entrance there is disposed facing the fiber a first multi-axis optic similar to that of .figure 3 and consisting of the zoned structure 70 and the converging lens 71.
• 77 represents a dichr ⁇ ic mirror transparent to red light and reflecting, for example, blue light.
• a lens 72 is placed on the axis 78 reflected from the axis 11 by the mirror 77.
• the zone element 70 and this lens 72 constitute a second multi-axis optic.
• the conjugates of the input 12 of the fiber by this second optic are 79, 80, 81.
• Light sources emitting in blue arranged on these conjugates allow the establishment by angular differentiation of three other transmission channels in blue light through the fiber 10 superimposed, angularly speaking, with those in the red.
• 81 represents a dichroic mirror transparent in red and blue but reflecting for example green.
• the conjugates of 12 by this third optic are 83, 84, 85.
• Sources of light emitting in the green arranged on these conjugates allow the establishment in the fiber of three other transmission channels in green light, that is to say in total 9 channels.
• At the fiber output is arranged an optical assembly identical to that at the input previously described, the light sources emitting in respectively blue, green, red being replaced by sensitive receivers in respectively blue, green, red .

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• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Optics & Photonics (AREA)
• Electromagnetism (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
• Signal Processing (AREA)
• Optical Couplings Of Light Guides (AREA)

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• 1981
  • 1981-02-17 US US06/394,993 patent/US4504111A/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1981-02-23 FR FR8103527A patent/FR2500639A1/fr active Granted
• 1982
  • 1982-02-17 JP JP57500705A patent/JPS58500143A/ja active Pending
  • 1982-02-17 EP EP82900666A patent/EP0072840B1/fr not_active Expired
  • 1982-02-17 DE DE8282900666T patent/DE3266601D1/de not_active Expired
  • 1982-02-17 WO PCT/NL1982/000004 patent/WO1982002956A1/en active IP Right Grant

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