Patent ID: 7769295

Claim:
A micro-optic dual beam-splitter assembly comprising, in combination: a. a housing having an optical signal output port, a first tap signal output port, a second tap signal output port, and an optical path in the housing from an optical signal source to the optical signal output port; b. a first photoreceptor mounted in the housing; c. a second photoreceptor mounted in the housing; d. a first optical filter chip in the optical path between the optical signal source and the optical signal output port, comprising a first optical substrate having at least a first filter surface, a first optical tap surface, and a first thin-film optical filter on the first filter surface, i. the first thin-film optical filter, as oriented in the housing, being substantially normal to the optical path incident on the first thin-film optical filter, and ii. the first optical tap surface, as oriented in the housing, being operative as an optical beam splitter to tap off a first optical tap signal to the first photoreceptor comprising a portion of the optical signals passed along the optical path to the first optical filter chip, and e. a second optical filter chip in the optical path between the first optical filter chip and the optical signal output port, comprising a second optical substrate having at least a second filter surface, a second optical tap surface, and a second thin-film optical filter on the second filter surface, i. the second thin-film optical filter, as oriented in the housing, being substantially normal to the optical path incident on the second thin-film optical filter; and ii. the second optical tap surface, as oriented in the housing, being operative as an optical beam splitter to tap off a second optical tap signal to the second photoreceptor comprising a portion of the optical signals passed along the optical path to the second optical filter chip, wherein the first optical filter chip and the second optical filter chip, as oriented in the housing, are cooperatively transmissive to the optical signal output port of a selected set of optical signal wavelengths received from the optical signal source along the optical path and are reflective of other wavelengths received from the optical signal source along the optical path, the first photoreceptor is operative to receive the first optical tap signal and to pass a corresponding first tap signal to the first tap signal output port, and the second photoreceptor is operative to receive the second optical tap signal and to pass a corresponding second tap signal to the second tap signal output port.