An optical coupler array can include an elongated optical element having a coupler housing structure and at least one longitudinal waveguide embedded in said housing structure. The housing structure can have an outer cross sectional shape comprising a first side comprising one or more curved portions and a second side comprising one or more flat portions. The second side can be disposed at a distance from the at least one longitudinal waveguide such that waveguiding properties are preserved and not disturbed.

One illustrative backscattering generator disclosed herein includes a low-reflection waveguide structure, a slot waveguide structure comprising a first waveguide, a second waveguide and a slot located between the first waveguide and the second waveguide, and a variable direction coupler operatively coupled to the low-reflection waveguide structure and the slot waveguide structure.

The invention comprises a delivery fiber assembly suitable for delivering broad band light. The delivery fiber assembly comprises a delivery fiber and a connector member. The deliver has a length, an input end for launching light and a delivery end for delivering light, where the delivery fiber comprises along its length a core region and a cladding region surrounding the core region. The cladding region comprises a cladding background material having a refractive index N.sub.bg and a plurality of inclusions of solid material having refractive index up to N.sub.inc and extending in the length of the longitudinal axis of the delivery fiber, wherein N.sub.inc<N.sub.bg and the plurality of inclusions in the cladding region is arranged in a cross-sectional pattern comprising at least two rings of inclusions surrounding the core region. The connector is mounted to the delivery fiber at a delivery end section of the delivery fiber comprising said delivery end. The delivery fiber has a transmission bandwidth of about 200 nm or more, such as of about 300 nm or more, such as of about 400 nm or more, such as of about 500 nm or more.

An electro-optic beam controller, material processing apparatus, or optical amplifier, and corresponding methods, can include an actively controlled, waveguide-based, optical spatial mode conversion device. The conversion device can include a coupler, which can be a photonic lantern, configured to combine light beams into a common light beam; a sensor configured to measure at least one characteristic of the common light beam; and a controller configured to modulate optical parameters of the individual, respective light beams to set one or more spatial modes of the common light beam. Actively controlled and modulated devices can be used to maintain a stable, diffraction-limited beam for use in an amplification, communications, imaging, laser radar, switching, or laser material processing system. Embodiments can also be used to maintain a fundamental or other spatial mode in an optical fiber even while scaling to kilowatt power.

Beam combining optical systems include a fiber beam combiner having multiple inputs to which output fibers of laser diode sources are spliced. Cladding light stripping regions are situated at the splices, and include exposed portions of fiber claddings that are at least partially encapsulated with an optical adhesive or a polymer. A beam combiner fiber that is optically downstream of a laser source has an exposed cladding secured to a thermally conductive support with a polymer or other material that is index matched to the exposed cladding. This construction permits attenuation of cladding light propagating toward a beam combiner from a splice.

Provided are a light source device that is suitable for an optical amplifier including a plurality of optical amplification units and that can emit excitation light of optimal intensity to each of the optical amplification units, and an optical amplifier that uses this light source device. The light source device includes: first and second light sources that each emit excitation light; and a polarization beam combiner that includes first and second input ports and first and second output ports and that multiplexes/demultiplexes the pumping light emitted from the first and second light sources and inputted to the first and second input ports.

Periscope assemblies are provided which have a light path that travels in a first plane along the first waveguide, a second plane along the second waveguide that is parallel to the first plane, and along a third plane along the third waveguide that intersects the first plane and the second plane. In some examples the periscope assembly includes first and second carriers comprising respective first and second waveguides and defining respective first and second cavities in which a third carrier comprising a third waveguide is disposed and optionally includes an optical component. In some examples, the cavities are defined in one or more carriers on a mating surface, on a side opposite to the mating surface, or on a side perpendicular to a mating surface.

An optical device is disclosed, including a phase delay, a first adiabatic coupler adapted to receive an input signal and adapted to be optically coupled to an input of the phase delay, and a second adiabatic coupler adapted to be optically coupled to an output of the phase delay. The second adiabatic coupler includes a first waveguide including a first portion optically coupled to the first output and including a first width, and a second waveguide including a second portion optically coupled to the second output and including a second width that is approximately equal to the first width.

An optical multiplexer that extends a transmission bandwidth of light is achieved. The present invention provides an optical multiplexer constructed of a multimode waveguide to which two single mode input waveguides are connected at a distance and two single mode output waveguides connected at a distance to a surface opposite a surface to which the input waveguides of the multimode waveguide are connected, in which a width of the multimode waveguide is smaller than widths of the two input waveguides plus a distance between the input waveguides, and the input waveguides are connected to the multimode waveguide and the multimode waveguide is connected to the output waveguides via tapered waveguides, respectively.

There is set forth herein a method including a substrate; a dielectric stack disposed on the substrate; one or more photonics device integrated in the dielectric stack; and a laser light source having a laser stack including a plurality of structures arranged in a stack, wherein structures of the plurality of structures are integrated in the dielectric stack, wherein the laser stack includes an active region configured to emit light in response to the application of electrical energy to the laser stack.