Patent ID: 9638863
Date: 2017-05-02
CPC Classifications: G02B

Claim:
1. An optical coupling device comprising a multi-core fiber alignment station, a single-mode fiber alignment station, and a furcation lens assembly, wherein: the multi-core fiber alignment station comprises multi-core fiber alignment hardware configured to position a multi-core optical fiber at a fixed position relative to an optical axis of the furcation lens assembly; the single-mode fiber alignment station comprises single-mode fiber alignment hardware configured to position single-mode optical fibers at fixed positions relative to the optical axis of the furcation lens assembly; the furcation lens assembly comprises a magnifying aspheric surface, a demagnifying aspheric surface, a furcating axicon surface, and a projecting axicon surface; the aspheric and axicon surfaces of the furcation lens assembly are positioned along the optical axis such that the furcating axicon surface comprises at least one furcation slope component configured to spatially separate, relative to the optical axis of the furcation lens assembly, optical modes of a multi-core optical fiber aligned in the multi-core fiber alignment station; the projecting axicon surface comprises at least one telecentric slope component configured to ensure that optical modes of a multi-core optical fiber aligned in the multi-core fiber alignment station are substantially telecentric when focused at respective input faces of single-mode optical fibers aligned in the single-mode fiber alignment station; the furcating and projecting axicon surfaces are rotationally invariant relative to the optical axis of the furcation lens assembly; and the aspheric and axicon surfaces of the furcation lens assembly are configured such that optical modes of a multi-core optical fiber aligned in the multi-core fiber alignment station are spatially separated and substantially telecentrically mapped to corresponding optical modes of furcated single-mode optical fibers aligned in the single-mode fiber alignment station.