Integrated optical circulator

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12487479-B2
Application number	US-202018016858-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 10, 2020
Priority date	Jul 29, 2020
Publication date	Dec 2, 2025
Grant date	Dec 2, 2025

Abstract

An integrated optical circulator comprising at least two single-fiber bidirectional optical fiber interfaces, a refractive element group, an optical isolation element group, and an optical fiber array, wherein the refractive element group and the optical isolation element group are sequentially arranged on a same optical path; incident signal light from each optical fiber interface sequentially passes through the refractive element group and the optical isolation element group, then is output by a corresponding outgoing optical fiber of the optical fiber array; incident signal light from each incident optical fiber of the optical fiber array sequentially passes through the optical isolation element group and the refractive element group, then is emitted by a corresponding optical fiber interface. Multiple optical circulators are integrated within the volume of a same optical circulator, reducing the volume occupied by optical circulators, lowering overall cost of the device, and improving convenience of optical path integration.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . An integrated optical circulator comprising at least two single-fiber bidirectional optical fiber interfaces ( 1 ), a refractive element group ( 2 ), an optical isolation element group ( 3 ) and an optical fiber array ( 4 ), wherein
the refractive element group ( 2 ) and the optical isolation element group ( 3 ) are sequentially located on a same optical path; signal light input from each single-fiber bidirectional optical fiber interface ( 1 ) sequentially passes through the refractive element group ( 2 ) and the optical isolation element group ( 3 ), and then is output by a corresponding outgoing optical fiber in the optical fiber array ( 4 ); and signal light input from each incident optical fiber in the optical fiber array ( 4 ) sequentially passes through the optical isolation element group ( 3 ) and the refractive element group ( 2 ), and then is output by the corresponding single-fiber bidirectional optical fiber interface ( 1 ), wherein the optical isolation element group ( 3 ) comprises a first polarization beam-splitting prism ( 31 ), a first half-wave plate ( 32 ), a first Faraday rotating plate ( 33 ), a second Faraday rotating plating ( 34 ), a second half-wave plate ( 35 ), and a second polarization beam-splitting prism ( 36 ), wherein the first polarization beam-splitting prism ( 31 ), the first half-wave plate ( 32 ), the first Faraday rotating plate ( 33 ), the second Faraday rotating plate ( 34 ), the second half-wave plate ( 35 ) and the second polarization beam-splitting prism ( 36 ) are sequentially located on a same optical path, and signal light output by the refractive element group ( 2 ) is output to the optical isolation element group ( 3 ) through the first polarization beam-splitting prism ( 31 ), and then output to the corresponding outgoing optical fiber in the optical fiber array ( 4 ) by the second polarization splitting prism ( 36 ); and the signal light output by the optical fiber array ( 4 ) is output to the optical isolation element group ( 3 ) through the second polarization splitting prism ( 36 ), and is then output to the refractive element group ( 2 ) by the first polarization splitting prism ( 31 ).

2 . The integrated optical circulator of claim 1 , wherein the refractive element group ( 2 ) comprises at least two refractive prisms ( 21 ), and
wherein the signal light input from each single-fiber bidirectional optical fiber interface ( 1 ) passes through the corresponding refractive prism ( 21 ) to reach the optical isolation element group ( 3 ), and then is output by the corresponding outgoing optical fiber in the optical fiber array ( 4 ); and the signal light input from each incident optical fiber of the optical fiber array ( 4 ) passes through the optical isolation element group ( 3 ), and then is refracted to the corresponding single-fiber bidirectional optical fiber interface ( 1 ) by the corresponding refractive prism ( 21 ) for being output.

3 . The integrated optical circulator of claim 2 , wherein an angle of the refractive prism ( 21 ) is calculated according to a number of the single-fiber bidirectional optical fiber interfaces ( 1 ) and an optical path angle.

4 . The integrated optical circulator of claim 1 , wherein the integrated optical circulator further comprises a lens array ( 5 ), wherein the lens array ( 5 ) is located on an optical path between the optical isolation element group ( 3 ) and the optical fiber array ( 4 ), and the signal light output by each optical fiber in the optical fiber array ( 4 ) passes through the lens array ( 5 ) to generate a corresponding collimated light beam.

5 . The integrated optical circulator of claim 4 , wherein a lens of the lens array ( 5 ) is an aspheric single-sheet plano-convex lens and/or an aspheric double-sheet plano-convex lens.

6 . The integrated optical circulator of claim 1 , wherein the single-fiber bidirectional optical fiber interface ( 1 ) is an SC ceramic ferrule, an LC ceramic ferrule, and/or an FC ceramic ferrule.

7 . The integrated optical circulator of claim 6 , wherein a pluggable end surface of the single-fiber bidirectional optical fiber interface ( 1 ) is a plane or an inclined plane.

8 . The integrated optical circulator of claim 6 , wherein pluggable end surfaces of each single-fiber bidirectional optical fiber interface ( 1 ) are parallel to each other.

9 . The integrated optical circulator of claim 1 , wherein the optical fiber array ( 4 ) is a conventional optical fiber or a micro-bending optical fiber.

Assignees

• Accelink Tech Co Ltd

Inventors

• Cao Junhong
• Chen Long
• Xiao Qingming
• Xie Hui
• Fan Jieqiao
• Wang Min

Classifications

• G02F1/092 Primary

  Operation of the cell; Circuit arrangements · CPC title

• G02B27/283

  used for beam splitting or combining · CPC title

• G02F1/0955 Primary

  used as non-reciprocal devices, e.g. optical isolators, circulators · CPC title

• G02F1/095

  in an optical waveguide structure · CPC title