Optical coupling connects devices using light waves. Optocouplers allow fiber optic cables to connect and distribute information in computer networks. Different types of optocouplers are used for special tasks, such as the US government’s mirrored prism design for Internet control. Some electronic devices use internal closed optical coupling systems for faster reaction rates.
Optical coupling is a method of interconnecting two devices to transfer an optical signal using light waves in the field of optoelectronics. In practice, an optical coupling can be a simple connection between two optical cables using a coupling device, or it can be a complex system that connects two separate actions using optical devices to make them dependent or responsive to each other. In a broader sense, it can refer to making any connection using light waves between two or more devices. For example, when a television remote control sends an infrared signal to the television’s infrared receiver, the television and the remote control are momentarily optically coupled.
When configuring optical-based electronic systems, it is often necessary to connect two or more fiber optic cables together. This is accomplished using a device called an optocoupler. Optocouplers are passive devices that allow light to travel from one fiber optic cable to another, while preventing them from coming into direct contact with each other. This isolation allows optocouplers to connect small fiber optic cables to large cables, large cables to small cables, or even one cable to many cables.
In fiber optic computer networks, optical coupling is a key concept. Optocouplers can accept signals transmitted as light waves from one computer over a fiber optic cable and branch it to many computers through many cables, thus distributing the information to an entire network. Likewise, they can collect data from many different source cables and combine them into a single fiber optic cable, which can be connected to network servers or other components such as printers or data backup devices.
There are several types of optocouplers to provide opto-coupling for many special tasks. For example, the US federal government controls the Internet using a special optocoupler based on a mirrored prism design. This coupler receives information from an Internet access point via a fiber optic cable in the form of light waves and then, using a prism, splits the light waves into two copies of the original. A copy of information continues to its destination on the Internet with no more interference or delay than would be experienced by passing it through a simple optical coupler used to connect two fiber optic cables. The other copy of the information is passed on to a government facility for analysis.
Many common electronic devices make use of internal closed optical coupling systems. Some power transistors work by receiving an electronic signal, converting it into light, and directing that light to an internal photo sensor. Once the sensor detects the light source, the transistor turns on and begins conducting energy. By using light to switch the transistor in response to electronic signals, rather than using electrical signals directly, the transistor can react to inputs at much higher rates. Also, because the input signal and the output signal are isolated from each other by the internal optocoupler, such transistors can send or transfer signals that are very different from the ones they receive.
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