A transceiver utilizing a fused fiber coupler for sensor applications.

A bidirectional transceiver consisting of an LED, PIN, and a 1x2 multimode fused coupler assembled into one compact package is demonstrated. This device allows for transmission and reception over one transmission line. Two devices were fabricated which utilized radiation hardened fiber in the multimode couplers. The couplers had excess losses of 1.05 dB and 1.20 dB and splitting ratios of ~50%. Power launched into the devices by the attached LED's was > -18.00 dBm at drive currents of ~54 mA. The output power of each device was stable over time and the optical crosstalk was >40dB. A potential problem utilizing single wavelength transceivers is the electrical and optical crosstalk between the source and receiver. This can be overcome in sensor applications and one solution will be presented. Also the advantages of transceivers in sensor applications as well as the advantages of the above device will be presented.