Month: January 2019

Types of Optical Isolator and their Working

An optical isolator, especially a Faraday isolator, is a device which transmits light in a certain direction while eliminating the back reflection and backscattering at any polarized state. It is generally categorized into two categories – Polarization Sensitive Optical Isolators and Polarization-Insensitive Optical Isolators. As I have already mentioned them as Faraday Isolators, it is obvious that they use the Faraday Effect of the Magneto-optical crystal. To know more about these isolators, let’s discuss the two types of optical isolators and how they work.

Polarization Sensitive Optical Isolators

These are the simplest Faraday Isolators which work only when the input beam has a guided linear polarization.

Working:

Their working is simple in which a polarized beam is passed through the first polarizer with minimum loss, then pass through 45 degree Faraday rotator and finally passed through the second polarizer with its transmitting axis being rotated by 45 degree in order to ensure that transmission losses are as low as possible.

When this light is reflected back to the output port with unmodified polarization state, it will fully pass through the output polarizer, but due to 45 degree rotated direction of polarization, the light will be blocked at the input polarizer or can be sent to separate output port. In case if the rotator’s rotation angle deviates from 45 degree due to any reason such as fabrication errors, the degree of isolation would be reduced. The problem is that we always need an isolator with high isolation which may be reduced in these kinds of isolators due to several reasons.

Polarization Insensitive Optical Isolators

A Polarization Insensitive Optical Isolator is the device which functions for arbitrary polarization of the input beam. As many fibers don’t maintain the polarization, such devices are often suitable and required in the context of fiber optics. Moreover, optical fiber communication systems are operated with arbitrary polarization state; so you need to use the Faraday Isolators and other components which can cope with undefined polarization state.

Principle:

The basic principle of PI optical isolator is to spatially separate the orthogonal polarization components of i/p beam with the help of a polarizer. Then, send them through Faraday rotator and combine the components again in the second polarizer.

The thing to note here is that polarization insensitive optical isolator doesn’t preserve the polarization state as there is an undefined relative phase change between the two components of polarization. This phase change is dependent on temperature and wavelength.

These isolators are widely used in telecommunication industry and various other applications in laser technology. They are characterized by high isolation, low insertion loss and excellent temperature stability. In the market, these isolators are available in various wavelengths and bandwidths. So, before making a purchase, clarify which specific isolator would be suitable for your use.

How to Choose a Coupler Used for Maintaining Polarization

Coupler is a vital element used with electronic devices. For example telephone coupler which is used to allow you to connect both a telephone and a fax machine to the same telephone line. CATV couplers are used with TV and let you connect several TV sets to a single cable from Comcast. And the tap coupler one of the most popular couplers used for a wide range of applications including fiber sensors.

Optic couplers such as tap couplers work more like the electronic couplers. They are used to split the signal to multiple points (devices), and so they are needed for tapping (monitoring the signal quality).   Tap couplers can also be used for more complex telecommunication systems which require more than simple point-to-point connections, such as ring architectures, bus architectures and star architectures.

There are different types tab couplers and each has some certain functions to perform. For example, 1064nm Polarization Maintaining Tap Coupler, a widely used polarization maintaining coupler which splits the light from the input PM fiber into two output PM fibers. This works whether you need to align the state of polarization either with the slow axis or fast axis of the PM fibers. Made of fine grade rugged stainless steel, the coupler is durable and can deliver the high performance. In addition, the device also provides a lot of other benefits such as low excess insertion loss, low back reflection, and high extinction ratio.

Made of separate light crystals, the tab coupler has output port of light which is different from that of the PM filter coupler.  The best thing about this device is that its coupling ratio is more accurate than most other couplers. And also it can handle higher power.

This coupler is designed to split the high power linear polarized light into various paths and all that without perturbing the line. You can also use tab coupler to monitor the signal power in a PM fiber system.

Given a number of benefits, the coupler is used for a wide range of applications including interferometers, power sharing in polarization sensitive systems, and signal monitoring in PM fiber systems.

Likewise, each coupler performs some certain functions, and so they can be suitable for some specific purpose. When you are looking for couplers, you should get deep into details and know about everything right from features and how do they work to their benefits and where they can be best used. This will help you can choose couplers right for you.

What types of coupler you buy, make sure you buy from a reputed source that has been in the field for a long spell of time. These are the top sources to buy Polarization Maintaining Tap Couplers or any other type of couplers for the price most competitive in the market.

All about the Cladding Power Stripper and Its Market

The multimode optical power stripper, commonly known as cladding power stripper is designed for applications like high power fiber lasers and amplifiers. The device is ideally used to strip ASE, residual pump power, and escaped core modes double cladding’s inner layer while it preserves minimal degradation of beam quality and signal power. The signal power reflected into the inner cladding can be stripped out also.

The cladding power stripper is mainly utilized in high-power fiber lasers and amplifiers that require efficiency to handle substantial optical powers. It requires making sure that the powers are sufficiently absorbed in a widespread area and the heat that is generated can be removed easily without damaging the surrounding pars, for instance, the mode stripper.

In fiber laser systems, the pump energy and doped fiber are generally absorbed which then transformed into signal energy. Here, the pump cannot be entirely absorbed, the residual part of the outer cladding is not required and it is even dangerous for downstream components. The CPS here can efficiently strip off the residual pump and signal that are transmitted back in clad and at the same time, it can keep the amplified signals protected.

Several manufacturers today provide cladding power strippers with power up to 300W and all kind of double clad fiber. In case you don’t find a standard CPS that meets your requirements, you may contact a few manufacturers as many of them would welcome you to put your demands on the table and they will give you a quote as per the custom specifications that are given by you. Some of them also accept requests for different wavelengths, application handling power, custom fiber type, and other specifically essential requirements.

Some of the key features of the CPS

  • Low Insertion Loss
  • High Power Absorption
  • High Power Handling
  • Fiber can be customized
  • High Reliability
  • PM and Non-PM are available
  • RoHS compliant
  • Excellent Temperature Stability

Following are some of the most common applications of these cladding power strippers where the specifications of the strippers may be different.

  • Fiber amplifier and laser systems
  • Industrial, Biomedical, Telecom,
  • ASE stripping
  • Life Science, Imaging, Quantum optics
  • The cladding-mode-free high power beam delivery
  • Metrology

When it comes to finding a reliable manufacturer and supplier, you can put your trust in that one that promises to deliver quality and durable electronic products and actually delivers the same when you place an order.

Today majorly all such manufacturers sell these products online too, in fact, the online market of these electronic components is growing rapidly. It helps us to connect to manufacturers, suppliers, and sellers sitting in different parts of the country. While choosing one, you must consider the product description and specifications. However, it is also advised to consider checking the reviews and ratings of the manufacturer before placing the order.

What Are Optical Circulators And Their Applications?

Each optical circulator is a generalized isolator which has three ports or sometimes more. Where an isolator causes the loss in the direction of isolation, a circulator gathers the light and redirects it to an output port which is nonreciprocal.

If I talk about a three-port circulator with non-strict-sense, this type of circulator has significance use in telecommunication applications because it is not necessary that the light should travel back from port 3 to port 1. For example, the light reflected from a fiber Bragg grating requires to be separated from the input light without loss, but since optical links are not operated in reverse only, there’s no requirement of strict-sense behavior.

An optical circulator is a special kind of fiber optic device which can separate optical power traveling in one single optical fiber in opposite directions. A polarization insensitive optical circulator can be used here to get bi-directional transmission of power over a single fiber. This circulator is majorly used in modern communication systems and advanced fiber-optical sensor systems due to its high isolation between the input power and reflected optical power and its lower loss of insertion.

A majority of online suppliers offer three or four-port optical circulators with;

Standard 1310nm or 1550nm windows

Or sometimes a wider range of wavelength from S to L band

Some of the manufacturers can also provide customized circulators on special requests with providing different wavelength, for instance, 1030nm, 1050nm, or 1040nm can be requested.

Though the standard power handling of this kind of a circulator is 300mW (CW), in the market, circulators are also available with power handling 1000mW, 2000mW, and 500mW (CW).

Here, a buyer requires being fully aware of the requirements of the application before choosing one.

Features

Low Insertion Loss

Low PDL

Wide Band, High Isolation

Epoxy Free Optical Path

Compact In-line Package

High Stability and Reliability

Easy mounting

The polarization insensitive optical circulators are often easily mounted to optical tables and can withstand various handlings. The use of four strong magnets helps to hold the rugged package securely on surfaces. Another mounting option is to wisely use tow countersunk holes with having some space in-between, in order to achieve compatibility with mounting patterns of optical tables.

Major Applications

Optical Amplifier

Fiber Sensors

Add-Drop Filters

Bi-Directional Communications

Metro Area Network

Digital, Hybrid, and AM-Video System

Wavelength Add / Drop

Dispersion Compensation

EDFAs

The online market is actually full of such optical circulators and buyers can place an order for customized circulators too, for instance, pigtailed versions of circulators would be perfect if an application requires a fiber with extended length on the circulator’s input and output.

Once you go online you will find that there are several suppliers of these optical circulators. You require making a decision on which one you should choose to shop. Apart from that, gather complete information about the application’s requirements and then decide which one you should buy.

These Are Proven Tips That Will Help Quickly Find the Best Optical Circulator

There are many brands in China making a wide range of optic fibers or circulators – a crucial device widely used for electronic applications. What that makes it a bit complex to choose the best one (optical circulator) is that all of them claim to offer high quality products for the most competitive prices. To help you with that, here we have curated a list of some tips that are very effective and anyone can apply them to select optical circulator.

 Tips to Choose an Optical Circulator

Look for all the options

 There are many options that you will find in China when it comes to optic fibers. For example Polarization Insensitive Optical Circulator one of the most widely used optic fibers for a wide range of electronic applications. The circulator is packed with host of features. If you are looking for an option that is durable, affordable and provide high quality performance, Polarization Insensitive Optical Circulator is what you must consider.

 Check after sales support

Whatever option you choose, make sure the supplier you buy your Polarization Insensitive Optical Circulator provides a good sale support. So when you have any problem with the product, you do not need to hire a technician. You can call to the supplier who will provide the right assistance to solve your problem. So buying Polarization Insensitive Optical Circulator from such a supplier saves you a chunk of money you need to pay for hiring a technician.

The suitability of the fiber to your device

As optic fibers come with different features, and so are suitable for some certain types of devices, it is vitally important to make sure the Polarization Insensitive Optical Circulator you buy is compatible with your device.

Compatibility

Types of fiber optic transceivers are getting richer, but the compatibility between different types has a great impact on the quality of network. It should be known that this product is designed to meet related international standards. Because. The circulators meeting international standards have no issues of compatibility.

Temperature adaptation

The temperature which is generated inside fiber optic transceivers is low, but as they are used in the Switches and computer room, the temperature fluctuates. It may get higher or lower. Too high or too low temperature adversely affects the parameters, for example optical power, optical sensitivity, etc. Polarization Insensitive Optical Circulator seems a best choice in this case. It is highly sensitive to fluctuation in power, and quickly adapts to the temperature.

 When you need to buy optic fibers, follow these tips that will surely profoundly help you choose the right circulator for you.