Abstract

Manufacturing technology was developed, under sponsorship of the Naval Research Laboratory, over a 2-yr period for the production of fused multimode optical couplers of star, tee, and duplex configurations. The manufacturing methods developed yielded couplers achieving the goals of low optical loss, high optical uniformity, rugged environmental performance, and the capability for being produced In at least 1000 unit/yr/station volume. Table I lists the 13 coupler types used and describes their optical specifications. All the coupler types had common environmental requirements listed in Table II and a common ≤35-dB backscatter isolation requirement. The manufacturing technology developed during production runs totaling over 200 couplers achieved yields >70% to the specifications.

© 1982 Optical Society of America