Patent ID: 7715664

Claim:
A high power optical isolator for transmitting an input optical signal comprising: an input collimator capable of receiving the input optical signal and to provide an output of a collimated optical signal; a birefringent optical beam splitter having a first surface optically coupled to said collimated optical signal from said input collimator, wherein said birefringent optical beam splitter is operative to split said collimated optical signal into an o-wave and an e-wave and to provide said o-wave and said e-wave as an output via a second surface, said birefringent optical beam splitter further including a first blocking aperture disposed on said first surface of said birefringent optical beam splitter, said first blocking aperture including a blocking portion and an aperture portion, said blocking portion of said first blocking aperture operative to prevent reflected optical signals from entering said input collimator and said aperture portion configured and arranged to allow said collimated optical signal to pass through to said birefringent optical splitter; an isolator core having an input optically coupled to said second surface of said birefringent optical beam splitter and operative to receive said o-wave and said e-wave there from, said isolator core including a plurality of Faraday rotators each coupled to an adjacent Faraday rotator via a half wavelength plate, wherein said half wavelength is the half wavelength of the input optical signal, said isolator core operative to rotate said o-wave and e-wave through a preselected polarization angle and to provide said rotated o-wave and e-wave as an output; a birefringent optical beam combiner having a first surface optically coupled to said isolator core output and operative to receive said rotated o-wave and said rotated e-wave there from, wherein said birefringent optical beam combiner is operative to combine said rotated o-wave and said rotated e-wave into a combined optical signal and is further operative to provide said combined optical signal as an output optical signal, said birefringent optical beam combiner further including a second surface including a second blocking aperture, said second blocking aperture including a blocking portion operative to prevent a residual o-wave signal and a residual e-wave signal from entering an output collimator and said second blocking aperture further including an aperture portion configured and arranged to allow said combined optical signal to pass through as an output optical signal; and an output collimator optically coupled to said birefringent optical beam combiner via said second blocking aperture and operative to receive said output optical signal and focus said output optical signal into a center core region of an optical output fiber.