Compact optical isolator for fibers using birefringent wedges

A new type of optical isolator for fibers is proposed in this paper. A birefringent wedge used to separate and combine the polarized light is developed, giving the isolator low forward loss and high isolation. The antire-flection process at the fiber endface reduces the forward loss and reflected return. A forward loss of 0.8 dB, a backward loss of 35 dB, and a reflected return of -32 dB were obtained. These characteristics were measured from fiber to fiber using multimode fibers with 50-/microm core diam at a wavelength of 1.3 microm. Details of the design, fabrication, and characteristics of this isolator are presented.