STTR PHASE I: High Faraday Rotation Optical Waveguides for Application in Optical Circulators for Telecommunications

STTR 第一阶段：用于电信光环行器的高法拉第旋转光波导

• 批准号: 9632281
• 负责人: Joel Roark
• 金额: $ 9.99万
• 依托单位: NOMADICS, INC
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1996
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1996-09-15 至 1997-10-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9632281&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: STTR; PHASE; Faraday; Rotation; Optical

*** 9632281 Roark This STTR Phase I project will demonstrate a novel approach for the fabrication of highly efficient Faraday-active optical waveguide structures. Faraday-active waveguides are presently of great interest as their development is the critical enabling technology associated with the demonstration of all-fiber optical circulators. Such devices, which may be characterized as multiport nonreciprocal polarization rotators, provide a means by which the telecommunications rate may be immediately doubled on the existing optical fiber carrier infrastructure. Successful implementation will lead to full-duplex operation over "long haul" fiber carriers. The suggested circulator approach is passive, and does not therefore require external clocking controls. Separation of the signals is based only upon propagation direction; no additional losses are imposed on transmitted signals, as in the case of conventional directional couplers. The investigators propose the use of advanced thin film techniques in the development of optical fiber segments. These processes have been previously shown to promote the introduction of photonically-active dopant species at dopant levels which are orders of magnitude greater than may be produced by conventional means. The proposed technology will replace conventional bulk optics technologies, as waveguide structures with dramatically improved figures of merit will be developed characterized during the initial Phase 1 period. The Phase 1 program also includes analysis of integrated permanent magnet structures, and a design assessment for optical circulator prototype development. The development of high Verdet constant materials offers the potential for achieving optical elements which double the throughput of fiber communications links. In addition, numerous other commercial uses exist for these materials. ***

* 9632281 Roark 这个STTR第一阶段项目将展示一种新的方法，用于制造高效的法拉第有源光波导结构。 法拉第有源波导目前引起了极大的兴趣，因为它们的发展是与全光纤环行器的演示相关的关键使能技术。 这种器件的特征可以是多端口非互易偏振旋转器，它提供了一种手段，通过这种手段，电信速率可以在现有的光纤载波基础设施上立即加倍。 成功的实施将导致全双工操作的“长途”光纤载波。建议的环行器方法是无源的，因此不需要外部时钟控制。 信号的分离仅基于传播方向;不像传统定向耦合器那样对传输信号施加额外损耗。研究人员建议在光纤段的开发中使用先进的薄膜技术。 这些工艺先前已显示出促进以比可通过常规手段产生的掺杂剂水平大几个数量级的掺杂剂水平引入光子活性掺杂剂物质。 所提出的技术将取代传统的体光学技术，因为具有显著改善的品质因数的波导结构将在最初的第1阶段期间被开发。 第一阶段计划还包括集成永磁结构的分析，以及光环行器原型开发的设计评估。 高费尔德常数材料的发展为实现光纤通信链路吞吐量加倍的光学元件提供了潜力。此外，这些材料还有许多其他商业用途。 ***