Efficient, Compact Device for All-Optical Processing (22091)

The invention is a series of devices, including an optical parametric oscillator, that are compact and efficient because they exploit phenomenon of a new kind of commercially available microstructure optical fiber.

Competing all-optical devices require powerful sources and extremely long lengths of fiber. For this reason, competing devices are not commercially viable. By exploiting newly discovered phenomena, the invention enables devices to operate using a few watts of optical power and a few meters of fiber, rather than using tens or hundreds of watts of optical power and hundreds or thousands of meters of fiber. Contributing even more to the compactness of the invention is the point that microstucture fiber can be coiled relatively tightly without inducing a loss in optical transmission. With up to a thirty (30)-fold increase in efficiency and with increased compactness, the invention enables a commercially viable device. Furthermore, the invention can operate at wavelengths in the optical communication band.

An OSA Abstract describes how the invention exploits the unusual characteristics of the newly commercial microstructure fiber so as to enable a compact and efficient optical parametric oscillator device.


ADVANTAGES: The invention enables commercially viable all-optical devices operating in the optical communication band. The reason is that the invention is far more efficient and compact than are competing devices.

U. S. Patent 6,958,855 has been issued. Northwestern University seeks a partner to commercialize this invention.

Type of Offer: Licensing



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