Patent ID: 6549686
Filing Date: 2003-04-15
Classification: G02B,G02F

Abstract:
A reflective optical circulator comprising:a plurality of optical ports installed on a same side of the reflective optical circulator; a non-reciprocal optical reflective device installed on the other side of the reflective optical circulator to reflect linearly polarized light beams entering a first optical port and a second optical port; and an optical crystal combination unit installed among the optical ports and the non-reciprocal optical reflective device to separate the light beams entering the optical ports into two linearly polarized light beams with different optical paths and an optical path difference; wherein the two beams are further guided to and reflected from the non-reciprocal optical reflective device, the reflected beams are then recombined together and guided to the optical port adjacent to one of the ports that the light beam entered, to leave the reflective-optical circulator, wherein the non-reciprocal optical reflective device comprises: a non-reciprocal polarization control crystal; an anti-reflection coating on a surface opposite to a beam incidence surface of the non-reciprocal polarization control crystal and on the optical path of the linearly polarized beam with a shorter optical path; a high-reflection coating on a surface opposite to a beam incident surface of the non-reciprocal polarization control crystal and on the optical path of the linearly polarized beam with a longer optical path; a high-refraction optical crystal, whose refraction index is greater than that of air, installed on the anti-reflection coating and the high-reflection coating; and a reflective surface on the other side of the high-refraction optical crystal.