KR-102962858-B1 - Side illumination system and method for a waveguide

Abstract

A system and method for lateral coupling, lateral illumination, or lateral injection of a waveguide (as opposed to axial coupling, illumination, or injection) are disclosed. In particular, the present invention relates to coupling along a waveguide that is increased to a magnitude several times that of any wave by lateral coupling, lateral illumination, or lateral injection, and consequently to increased transmission.

Inventors

• 에갈론 클라우디오 올리베이라

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20201209

Priority Date

20191209

Claims (20)

1. A method for testing various different angles of incidence to illuminate the side of a collecting waveguide having a side between a first cross-section and a second cross-section, The step of providing a lighting device that illuminates the side of the collecting waveguide by a beam at various different angles of incidence; and A method comprising the step of determining a desired angle of incidence from the intensity of a beam emitted from one of the first or second cross-sections of the collecting waveguide in response to illuminating the collecting waveguide.
2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the beam comprises electromagnetic waves, acoustic waves, or particle waves.
3. A method according to claim 1, wherein the collecting waveguide is a cylindrical optical fiber or a tapered optical fiber.
4. In claim 1, the method wherein the lighting device is a goniometer having a collimated source.
5. In claim 1, the lighting device is a support for the collecting waveguide, and the support has one or more holes arranged at the same or several different angles, and the holes guide light from a light source toward the collecting waveguide.
6. In claim 5, the hole is cylindrical or conical.
7. In claim 1, the illumination device is a support for the collecting waveguide, the support has one or more illumination waveguides arranged at the same or several different angles, and the illumination waveguides guide light from a light source toward the collecting waveguide.
8. In claim 7, the method wherein the illumination waveguide is perpendicular to the collection waveguide, and the illumination waveguide has a distal cross-section at an angle that refracts light toward an angle deviating from the normal.
9. A method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the illumination waveguide is either cylindrical or conical.
10. In claim 9, the illumination waveguide has a cross-section (angled end face) that is perpendicular to the axis of the illumination waveguide.
11. In a system for coupling an optical beam to a collecting waveguide having a side disposed between a first cross-section and a second cross-section, A light source that generates a beam; A lighting device that orients a beam toward the side of the collecting waveguide at a plurality of different angles deviating from the normal; and A system comprising a detector disposed in a first cross-section or a second cross-section of the above-mentioned collecting waveguide.
12. In a system for coupling an optical beam to a collecting waveguide having a side disposed between a first cross-section and a second cross-section, A light source that generates a beam; A lighting device that orients a beam toward the side of the collecting waveguide at a plurality of different angles deviating from the normal; and A system comprising detectors disposed in the first and second cross-sections of the above-mentioned collecting waveguide.
13. A system according to claim 11 or 12 further comprising a goniometer that orients a beam toward the side of the collecting waveguide at a plurality of different angles deviating from the normal.
14. A system according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the collecting waveguide is mounted on the upper part of a support and propagates a beam irradiated from the light source along one or more holes formed inside the support toward the side of the collecting waveguide.
15. In Clause 14, the hole is an angled system extending from the upper part of the support to the lower part of the support.
16. A system according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the collecting waveguide is mounted on the upper part of a support and propagates a beam irradiated from the light source along one or more illumination waveguides formed inside the support toward the side of the collecting waveguide.
17. In Clause 14, the hole is a cylindrical or conical system.
18. In claim 16, the illumination waveguide is perpendicular to the collection waveguide, and the illumination waveguide has a distal cross-section at an angle that refracts light toward an angle deviating from the normal.
19. In Clause 16, the above-mentioned illumination waveguide is a system in which it is either cylindrical or conical.
20. In claim 19, the illumination waveguide is a system having a cross-section that is perpendicular or angled to the axis of the illumination waveguide.

Description

Side illumination system and method for a waveguide This application claims priority to U.S. provisional application serial number 62/945,584 filed on December 9, 2019, and all external materials identified herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety. The field of the present invention generally relates to lateral coupling, lateral illumination, or lateral injection of a waveguide (as opposed to axial coupling, illumination, or injection). In particular, the present invention relates to increased coupling of any wave by lateral coupling, illumination, or injection along a waveguide and consequently increased transmission. Furthermore, the present invention relates to the following waves along each of their respective waveguides, namely: a. Electromagnetic waves such as radio waves, microwaves, infrared rays, visible light, ultraviolet rays, X-rays, and gamma rays; b. Sound waves such as sound, infrasound, and ultrasound; c. matter wave; and d. It relates to increased signal transmission by lateral coupling of any other type of wave. The background description contains information that may be useful for understanding the present invention. Any information provided herein is prior art or related to the presently claimed invention, but it is not an acknowledgment that any publication specifically or implicitly mentioned constitutes prior art. Currently, transverse or lateral illumination of waveguides such as optical fibers is typically performed at an angle of 0° to the normal of the side of the waveguide. However, this type of illumination results in only a small fragment of light being injected and transmitted along the waveguide, leading to (1) short propagation length (e.g., up to 2 meters), (2) low signal strength of optical fiber sensors, consequently low sensitivity and resolution, and (3) low efficiency of couplers. In general, little research has been done on laterally illuminated optical fibers and laterally illuminated waveguides. Patents by Egalon (U.S. Patents No. 8,463,083; 8,909,004 and 10,088,410) disclose a laterally illuminated optical fiber. Pulido and Esteban (C. Pulido, O. Esteban, "Multiple fluorescence sensing with laterally taped polymer fiber," Sensors and Actuators B, 157 (2011), pp. 560-564) disclose a laterally illuminated fluorescent clad optical fiber. A goniometer was used to determine the angle of higher illumination for the coupled fluorescence. Finally, Grimes et al. (U.S. Patent No. 4,898,444) disclose a first fiber used to minimize losses due to Fresnel reflection by illuminating a second fiber laterally using a bonding medium. All persons discussed herein and all other external materials are cited by reference in their entirety. If the definition or use of a term in a cited reference contradicts or conflicts with the definition provided herein, the definition provided herein shall apply, and the definition in the reference shall not apply. While these references contribute to the field of side-illuminated waveguides, there remains a need for improved systems and methods coupled to waveguides by side illumination. Various objects, features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the embodiments, together with the accompanying drawings in which similar reference numerals indicate similar components. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a light source, such as a laser pointer, that illuminates a collecting waveguide with a collimated light beam. The light source is mounted on a goniometer and can illuminate the collecting waveguide at several different angles (θ) and positions ( x ). FIG. 2 is a graph showing light intensity according to the illumination angle (θ) with respect to the normal of the surface of the collecting waveguide at three different positions ( x ) along the collecting waveguide, according to the setup of FIG. 1 but having a tapered shape. Position ( x ) is measured at the leading or trailing end of the collecting waveguide closest to the photodetector. In all cases, the intensity for an angle that may vary depending on the taper angle of the waveguide at the illumination point increases exponentially up to a certain angle. Figure 3 is a graph showing the graph illustrated in Figure 2 on a logarithmic scale. Figure 4 is a graph showing the intensity according to position and illumination angle along the collecting waveguide, provided that the collecting waveguide has a tapered shape, according to the setting of Figure 1. Figure 5 is a graph showing the ratio (or I max / I 0 o ) between the maximum intensity ( I max ) and the intensity at a 0-degree illumination angle ( I 0 ) according to a given position ( x ). FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a support including cylindrical holes of a specific angle for illuminating a collecting waveguide. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a support having a conical hole f