Fiber optic coupler is a lively type of passive components, and its basic function would be to achieve the optical power and fiber wavelength distribution. Single-mode fiber coupler is a passive component of a very broad application in optical fiber communication systems, fiber optic sensors, fiber optic measurement techniques and signal processing systems.
We use electronic couplers constantly, like a telephone coupler which lets you connect both a mobile phone and a fax machine towards the same telephone line. Optical couplers have similar functionality as electronic couplers. They split the signal to multiple points(devices). Fiber optic couplers are needed for tapping(monitoring the signal quality) or even more complex telecommunication systems which require a lot more than simple point-to-point connections, for example ring architectures, bus architectures and star architectures.
Fiber optic couplers could be either passive or active devices. The difference between active and passive couplers is that a passive coupler redistributes the optical signal without optical-to-electrical conversion. Active couplers are electronics that split or combine the signal electrically and utilize fiber optic detectors and sources for input and output.
You will find majorly three kinds of manufacturing technologies for fiber optic coupler: micro optics, planar waveguide and fused-fiber. Micro optics technologies use individual optic elements such as prism, mirrors, lens etc to construct an optical route which functions like a coupler. This can be an expensive approach and never as common as the other two sorts. Planar waveguides are more like semiconductors, such as PLC splitters. A planar wafer is used to create waveguide couplers. They are more often employed for high port count couplers for instance 12, 24, and 36 output ports.
Fuse-fiber couplers or FBT couplers make use of the simplest material – optical fibers. Multiple fiber cores are melted together which let light transmit among them. Fused primary technique is to burn melt together two fiber optic and stretching to reach the core polymer optical coupling together. The most crucial being the fiber optic splicing equipment. Fiber optic splicing is also the most important step. While some significant steps may be within the machine OEM, but after fused, you have to manually package.
This method has certain advantages in the production efficiency and product performance. These days it is the primary method for manufacturing an optical fiber coupler. In this way, optical fiber coupler produced properties happen to be significantly improved than before. Nonetheless, with the big number of applications within the military, aerospace and other high-tech fields, the fiber coupler have become increasingly demanding for insertion loss flatness, polarization sensitivity, device reliability, bandwidth and power and other aspects of the work.
These practical needs coupled with the manufacturing process submits higher requirements in order to meet these requirements. Scientists have done lots of research in various manufacturing techniques.