Patent ID: 7912331

Claim:
An optical apparatus, comprising: a fiber array consisting of one or more optical fibers; a lens array consisting of one or more lenses corresponding to the optical fibers of the fiber array; one or more waveguide paths optically coupled in a planar light-wave circuit between one or more optical fibers in the fiber array and one or more corresponding lenses in the lens array; wherein the planar light-wave circuit includes: one or more optical taps optically coupled to the one or more waveguide paths between the fiber array and the lens array; and one or more tap paths configured to couple between the one or more optical taps and the one or more tap fibers, wherein each optical tap is located such that an optical signal is tapped after it is coupled into one of the waveguide paths; and wherein one or more waveguide paths include: at least one waveguide path coupled between an optical fiber in the fiber array and a lens in the lens array, wherein the waveguide path includes a turn between the optical fiber and the lens array configured to separate unguided optical energy from the waveguide path before tapping occurs.