Patent ID: 8000358
Filing Date: 2011-08-16
Classification: H01S

Abstract:
1. An optical power monitoring system for a laser array, the system comprising: a parallel channel laser having a plurality of laser sources, each capable of producing a respective light beam; a lens apparatus having an entrance surface facing the parallel channel laser array and an exit surface opposite the entrance surface; a reflector element positioned between the parallel channel laser and the lens apparatus, the reflector element having a side edge that is positioned to overlap a portion of each of the light beams to simultaneously collect a portion of each of the light beams from the plurality of laser sources and split the light beams into (a) a plurality of respective monitor beams each to propagate within the reflector element and (b) a plurality of output beams to propagate within the lens apparatus, where the amount of overlap determines the amount of the light beams collected as monitoring beams and the amount of the light beams that pass as the plurality of output beams and where the lens apparatus is configured to receive the output beams at the entrance surface and couple each of the output beams into one of a plurality exit fibers, wherein the reflector element is configured to propagate each of the monitor beams under total internal reflection from an entrance region at the side edge to an exit region of the reflector element; an array of detectors aligned with the exit region to receive the monitor beams from the plurality of laser sources and to sense an optical characteristic for each of the monitor beams, where each detector of said array is dedicated to one of the laser sources; and wherein the reflector element comprises a prism having a first reflective surface aligned to receive the monitor beams and a second reflective surface aligned with the first reflective surface to couple the monitor beams to the array of detectors.