Nowadays, it appears that the optical components aging faster. Therefore, it is accelerate of the research of the aging of the optical coupler by thermal stress necessary. This paper discusses finding of the influence of the thermal aging on the basic parameters of the optical coupler. The examined coupler has one input and eight outputs (1:8). The process of heat stress is carried out at 95°C in the electric drying oven where the coupler is loaded during the period of 120 hours. The optical power at the input of the coupler and the output optical powers of the individual branches of the coupler are measured after cooling to room temperature (approximately 25°C). The insertion losses of the individual branches, split ratio, total losses, homogeneity of the losses and cross-talk between individual branches are calculated using formulas. Measurements are made at wavelengths 1310 nm and 1550 nm. All optical powers are measured 20 times due to the statistical exclusion of error of measurements. The coupler is loaded during the period of 120 hours again immediately after measuring. Storing of the optical coupler in the drying oven is carried out so that is completely uniform heating of all the parts. The coupler is turn around every 30 hours. The paper contains the exact procedure of measurement of optical powers, which is followed by an evaluation of results. The results are shown for measurements before and after 5 cycles of heating.

Date Published: 7 September 2016
PDF: 8 pages
Proc. SPIE 9958, Photonic Fiber and Crystal Devices: Advances in Materials and Innovations in Device Applications X, 99580X (7 September 2016); doi: 10.1117/12.2236294

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9958:
Photonic Fiber and Crystal Devices: Advances in Materials and Innovations in Device Applications X
Shizhuo Yin; Ruyan Guo, Editor(s)