Patent ID: 8686382

Claim:
An opto-isolator comprising: a transmitter module housing; a transmitter module disposed within the transmitter module housing, the transmitter module having an electrical-to-optical converter (EOC) for converting an electrical drive signal into an optical signal; a nontransparent hollow tube, the tube having a diameter D and being formed of a polymer material, the tube having a first end and a second end and having inner and outer surfaces that define a wall of the tube between the first end and the second end where the wall has a length L, the first end of the tube being mechanically coupled to an outer surface of the transmitter module housing, the inner surface of the tube being smooth and having minor-like qualities, the optical signal produced by the EOC being optically coupled into the first end of the tube and the optical signal propagating along the tube toward the second end of the tube via one or more reflections on the inner surface of the tube, wherein the length L is greater than diameter D, wherein the diameter D of the tube comprises a diameter of the outer surface of the tube, and a second diameter D 2 comprises a diameter of the inner surface, and wherein the second diameter D 2 at the first end of the tube is greater than the second diameter D 2 at the second end of the tube; a receiver module housing, wherein the second end of the tube is mechanically coupled to an outer surface of the receiver module housing; and a receiver module disposed within the receiver module housing, the receiver module having an optical-to-electrical converter (OEC) for converting optical signals into electrical signals, wherein at least a portion of the optical signal propagating along the tube toward the second end of the tube passes out of the second end of the tube and is optically coupled onto the OEC.