The purpose of the present invention is to provide an optical member and the like which enable suppression of diffusion of stray light due to a pigment even when the optical member and the like are used adjacent to a light guiding part through which incident light is transmitted. The optical member is configured to be used adjacent to the light guiding part through which the incident light is transmitted and to attenuate the incident light. The optical member has a dispersed carbon particle part that is formed as a result of dispersion of carbon particles in a particular region in a silicone resin. The carbon particles are stray light diffusion suppressing particles for suppressing the intensity of light being incident onto the carbon particles and diffused.

In a waveguide device, unnecessary optical power is appropriately terminated. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the waveguide device has a termination structure filled with a light blocking material to terminate light from a waveguide end. In the termination structure, a cladding and a core are removed to form a groove on an optical waveguide. The groove is filled with a material (light blocking material) that attenuates the intensity of light. Thus, light input to the termination structure is attenuated by the light blocking material, suppressing crosstalk which possibly effects on other optical devices. Thus, such a termination structure can restrain crosstalk occurred in optical devices integrated in the same substrate and can also suppress crosstalk which possibly effects on any other optical device connected directly to the substrate.

A surface light source assembly includes at least one light emitting element and a light guide plate. Each light emitting element has an annular light emitting side surface. The light guide plate has a bottom surface and a light emission surface opposite to each other. The bottom surface has at least one accommodation groove to accommodate the at least one light emitting element. The accommodation groove has a light incident surface. The light incident surface surrounds the annular light emitting side surface of the light emitting element located in the accommodation groove. The light emission surface of the light guide plate is a convex surface. A backlight module having a plurality of above light source assemblies is also provided. The surface light source assembly and the backlight module of the invention can enhance the luminance uniformity and suppress the light leakage at the edge of the light guide plate.

A semiconductor laser module includes a package; a plurality of semiconductor laser elements provided in the package; a member having a plurality of mounting surfaces on which the semiconductor laser elements are mounted, the mounting surfaces being separated from a bottom surface of the package by respective distances, the distances being gradually different from each other in a manner that the mounting surfaces as a whole form a step-like form; a plurality of lenses collimating respective laser beams emitted from the semiconductor laser elements; a plurality of reflection mirrors reflecting the respective laser beams; a condenser lens unit condensing the laser beams; an optical fiber where the optical beams condensed by the condenser lenses are optically coupled; and an optical filter disposed on optical lines of the respective laser beams reflected by the reflection mirrors and reflecting light having wavelengths different from the wavelengths of the laser beams.

An optical device capable of suppressing a reflected light at an end of an optical waveguide regardless of the width of the optical waveguide is provided. An optical device includes an optical waveguide and a terminator. The optical waveguide is formed on a substrate. The terminator is formed on the substrate in such a way that the terminator is connected to one end of the optical waveguide, includes a curved optical waveguide having such a curvature that it causes a bending loss in an input light input from the optical waveguide, the input light decaying as it propagates through the curved optical waveguide.

A shape calculating apparatus includes a light source, an optical fiber provided with detection targets. The detection targets have mutually different light absorption spectra to decrease a quantity of light propagated by the fiber in accordance with a bend shape of the fiber. The apparatus also includes a light detector to detect light quantity information at wavelengths included in the light absorption spectra, a calculator to execute a calculation relating to a shape of each detection target based on the light quantity information. The apparatus further includes a setting change unit to change, with respect to each of the wavelengths, a dynamic range of at least either an intensity of light input to the optical fiber or an electric signal generated by the detector.

An optical attenuator and/or optical terminator is provided. The device includes an optical channel having two regions with different optical properties, such as an undoped silicon region which is less optically absorptive and a doped silicon region which is more optically absorptive. Other materials may also be used. A facet at the interface between the two regions is oriented at a non-perpendicular angle relative to a longitudinal axis of the channel. The angle can be configured to mitigate back reflection. Multiple facets may be included between different pairs of regions. The device may further include curved and/or tapers to further facilitate attenuation and/or optical termination.

The present disclosure relates to optical waveguide termination devices. In some embodiments, an optical waveguide termination device is coupled to an end of an optical waveguide. The optical waveguide termination device is a tapered structure. In various embodiments, an optical absorption rate of the tapered structure is increased to enhance a termination efficiency. The optical absorption is increased by highly-doped material, multi-layer structure, different cladding, and periodic structure. The enhancement of the termination efficiency benefits size reduction of the tapered structure.

Embodiments of the invention include a method of initiating an optical fiber. In some embodiments, a distal portion of the optical fiber is coated with an energy absorbing material. In some embodiments, the material includes a metal flakes or powder dispersed in a solution of organic solvents. After the material dries, laser energy is fired through the optical fiber. The laser energy can be absorbed in the material and ignites the organic solvents. This combustion melts the material of the optical fiber, and impregnates the optical fiber with the metal flakes or powder of the material. The resulting optical fiber is thus permanently modified so that the energy applied through the fiber is partially absorbed and converted to heat.

A semiconductor photodetector comprising a closed loop configured to receive light from an external source adapted to trap light within said closed loop until absorption by the semiconductor.