FIBER-OPTICS

The use of birefringent optical materials (e.g. YVO4, TiO2, LiNbO3, etc.) in passive telecommunications components is becoming widespread. Numerous components including optical isolators, optical switches, interleavers, modulators, and multiplexers/demultiplexers now utilize these materials. Isomet has over 40 years experience working with birefringent materials, and we have recently begun to offer the following products and services:

  • Crystal growth
    We grow the following birefringent materials in house: PbMoO4, TeO2, LiNbO3. Since PbMoO4 is not a well-known birefringent material, we have prepared a PDF-format PbMoO4 Datasheet.
  • Optical fabrication
    We offer X-ray orientation wafering, dicing, and polishing of most birefringent materials (including the three materials grown in-house along with YVO4, CaCO3, TiO2) and other commonly used glasses. We can manufacture finished parts in very high volumes.
  • Anti-reflection coating
    We can apply visible and near-IR anti-reflection coatings to all the same materials that we fabricate.
  • Athermal birefringent filters
    We design, prototype and manufacture temperature-compensated birefringent filters. These filters can be used to build many different passive components including multiplexers/demultiplexers, interleavers, gain flattening filters, bandpass filters, and dispersion compensators. We also sell temperature-compensated crystal pairs that function as high-order waveplates for inclusion into customer-designed birefringent filters.
  • Acousto-optic devices
    Several different fiber-optics components including tunable filters, dynamic gain equalizers, modulators, deflectors, and optical switches can be built using our well-developed acousto-optic technology.
  • Optical polarization rotator
    We have recently developed a rotator based on TeO2, which exhibits optical activity in the near-infrared.

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