{
  "patent_number": "US 12517303",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "Connecting Different Types of Fiber Optic Cables with an Adapter",
  "original_title": "Optical waveguide adapter assembly",
  "summary": "This patent describes a special adapter that smoothly connects a traditional solid core optical fiber to a newer hollow core optical fiber by carefully changing the light's beam size as it passes between them.",
  "what_it_does": "The patent details an optical waveguide adapter assembly designed to link two different types of fiber optic cables: a solid core optical waveguide and a hollow core optical waveguide. The core idea is an \"optical mode field adapter\" that sits between them. This adapter has a waveguiding core whose shape or refractive index property changes the \"optical mode field size\" of the light signal. Specifically, it transitions the light's beam size from the \"first optical mode field size\" of the solid core waveguide to the \"second optical mode field size\" of the hollow core waveguide (Claim 1). This ensures the light signal travels efficiently without significant loss when moving from one fiber type to the other. For instance, if a data center uses traditional silica fibers for short runs but wants to use faster hollow core fibers for longer distances, this adapter would allow a seamless connection.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Does not cover connecting two solid core optical waveguides without a mode field adapter.",
    "Does not cover connecting two hollow core optical waveguides without a mode field adapter.",
    "Does not cover an adapter that connects different fiber types without actively changing the optical mode field size.",
    "Does not cover systems that exclusively use either solid core or hollow core optical waveguides, but not both.",
    "Does not cover optical connections where the mode field adapter is not directly joined to both the solid and hollow core waveguides as specified in Claim 1."
  ],
  "filed": "2024-03-05",
  "granted": "2026-01-06",
  "expires": "2044-03-05",
  "status": "active",
  "holder": "Microsoft Technology Licensing",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/microsoft-technology-licensing",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "Andrew Thomas Harker",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/andrew-thomas-harker"
    },
    {
      "name": "Simon BAWN",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/simon-bawn"
    },
    {
      "name": "Michael Fake",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/michael-fake"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 0,
  "tags": [
    "telecommunications",
    "data_centers",
    "optical_networking",
    "semiconductors",
    "consumer_electronics"
  ],
  "abstract": "An optical waveguide adapter assembly comprises a solid core optical waveguide extending between a free end and a coupled end and having a solid waveguiding core with an associated first optical mode field size; a hollow core optical waveguide extending between a free end and a coupled end and having a hollow waveguiding core with an associated second optical mode field size; and an optical mode field adapter extending between a first end and a second end and having a waveguiding core configured to change an optical mode field of a waveguided optical signal substantially between the first optical mode field size at the first end of the optical mode field adapter and the second optical mode field size at the second end of the optical mode field adapter.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/12517303/optical-waveguide-adapter-assembly",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/12517303/optical-waveguide-adapter-assembly/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US12517303",
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}