An optical device includes a plurality of optical ports for receiving optical beams. The optical device also includes a plurality of toric micro lenses each receiving one of the optical beams from a respective one of the optical ports. A dispersion element is provided for spatially separating in a dispersion plane the optical beam into a plurality of wavelength components. At least one focusing element is provided for focusing the plurality of wavelength components. A programmable optical phase modulator is also provided for receiving the focused plurality of wavelength components. The modulator is configured to selectively direct the wavelength components to prescribed ones of the optical ports. The toric lenses impart positive power to the optical beams in the port plane and negative optical power to the optical beams in a plane orthogonal to the port plane.
G02B 6/35 - Optical coupling means having switching means
G02B 6/293 - Optical coupling means having data bus means, i.e. plural waveguides interconnected and providing an inherently bidirectional system by mixing and splitting signals with wavelength selective means
G02F 1/01 - Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulatingNon-linear optics for the control of the intensity, phase, polarisation or colour
2.
OPTICAL ARRANGEMENT FOR SUPPRESSING OUTERBAND CROSSTALK IN A WAVELENGTH SELECTIVE SWITCH
An optical device includes at least three optical ports. Optical arrangement arranges an optical beam received from any of the optical ports into a first polarization state. A dispersion element spatially separates the optical beam into a plurality of wavelength components. An optical power element converges each wavelength component in at least one direction. A programmable optical phase modulator steers the wavelength components through the optical arrangement, the dispersion element and the focusing element to a selected optical output. The programmable optical phase modulator includes an active area that performs the steering and a non-active area surrounding the active area. A polarizing arrangement located in an optical path between at least one of the optical ports and at least a portion of the non-active area of the programmable optical phase modulator is configured to arrange optical energy into a second polarization state orthogonal to the first polarization state.
An optical switching arrangement includes a plurality of input and output waveguides. Each of the input waveguides has a first plurality of 1x2 optical switches associated therewith and extending therealong. Each of the output waveguides has a second plurality of 1x2 optical switches associated therewith and extending therealong. Each of the first and second plurality of optical switches is selectively switchable between a through-state and a cross-state. The input and output waveguides are arranged such that optical losses arising for any wavelength of light only depend on a length of segments of the input and output waveguides located between adjacent ones of the 1x2 optical switches. Each of the first plurality of optical switches associated with each of the input waveguides is optically coupled to one of the second plurality of optical switches in a different one of the output waveguides when both optical switches are in the cross-state.
G02B 6/293 - Optical coupling means having data bus means, i.e. plural waveguides interconnected and providing an inherently bidirectional system by mixing and splitting signals with wavelength selective means
4.
OPTICAL CHANNEL MONITOR FOR A WAVELENGTH SELECTIVE SWITCH EMPLOYING A SINGLE PHOTODIODE
A method of monitoring at least one optical wavelength component of a WDM optical signal being routed through a wavelength selective switch (WSS) includes directing an optical wavelength component from a given input port of the WSS to a selected output port with a selected amount of attenuation. A rejected portion of the optical wavelength component giving rise to the selected amount of attenuation is directed to an optical monitor associated with another output port of the WSS. A power level of the optical wavelength component is determined by pre-calibrating a proportionality between the power level of the wavelength component and the power level of the rejected portion that is directed to the optical monitor.
A method is provided for reducing flicker arising in pixels along an axis of a liquid-crystal based array such as a LCoS array. The pixels along the axis exhibit a common gray scale level. In accordance with the method, a plurality of digital data command sequences are selected that each drive a pixel at the common gray scale level. A first of the plurality of digital data command sequences is applied to a first pixel along the axis. A second of the plurality of digital data command sequences is applied to a second pixel along the axis. The second pixel is adjacent to the first pixel. The first and second digital command sequences give rise to voltages being applied to the two pixels which have frequency components that are opposite in phase and equal in magnitude.
G09G 3/36 - Control arrangements or circuits, of interest only in connection with visual indicators other than cathode-ray tubes for presentation of an assembly of a number of characters, e.g. a page, by composing the assembly by combination of individual elements arranged in a matrix by control of light from an independent source using liquid crystals
G09G 3/20 - Control arrangements or circuits, of interest only in connection with visual indicators other than cathode-ray tubes for presentation of an assembly of a number of characters, e.g. a page, by composing the assembly by combination of individual elements arranged in a matrix
6.
OPTICAL ARRANGEMENT FOR MANAGING DIVERSITY AND ISOLATION BETWEEN PORTS IN A WAVELENGTH SELECTIVE SWITCH
An optical device includes an optical port array, an optical arrangement, a dispersion element, a focusing element and a programmable optical phase modulator. The optical port array has at least one optical input port for receiving an optical beam and a plurality of optical output ports. The optical arrangement allows optical coupling between the input port and each of the output ports and prevents optical coupling between any one of the plurality of optical output ports and any other of the plurality of optical output ports. The dispersion element receives the optical beam from the input port after traversing the optical arrangement and spatially separates the optical beam into a plurality of wavelength components. The focusing element focuses the plurality of wavelength components. The programmable optical phase modulator receives the focused plurality of wavelength components and steers them to a selected one of the optical outputs.
An optical device incorporates into the same physical structure the functionality of two or more wavelength selective switches. The wavelength components associated with the first optical switch are isolated from the wavelength components associated with the second optical switch by their spatial displacement along one axis on a programmable optical phase modulator. Remaining crosstalk between the components is reduced by spatially separating the components of the two wavelength switches having the same wavelength along another axis of the programmable optical phase modulator.
An optical device includes a plurality of optical input ports. a plurality of optical output ports, a wavelength dispersion arrangement and at least one optical beam steering arrangement. The plurality of optical input ports is configured to receive optical beams each having a plurality of wavelength components. The wavelength dispersion arrangement receives the optical beams and spatially separates each of the optical beams into a plurality of wavelengths components. The optical beam steering arrangement has a first region onto which the spatially separated wavelength components are directed and a second region onto which any subset of the plurality of wavelength components of each of the optical beams is selectively directed after the wavelength components in each of the subsets are spatially recombined with one another. The optical beam steering arrangement selectively directs each of subset of the plurality of wavelength components to a different one of the optical output ports.
G02B 6/12 - Light guidesStructural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings of the optical waveguide type of the integrated circuit kind
An optical device includes an optical port array, a first walk-off crystal, a first half-wave plate, a second walk-off crystal and a segmented half-wave plate. The optical port array has a first and second plurality of ports for receiving optical beams. The first walk-off crystal spatially separates the beams into first and second portions that are in first and second orthogonal polarization states, respectively. The first portions are walked-off by the first walk-off crystal and the second portions pass therethrough without being walked-off. The first half-wave plate rotates the polarization state of the first and second portions of the optical beams. The second walk-off crystal is oriented in an opposite direction from the first walk-off crystal such that the second portions are walked-off by the second walk-off crystal and the first portions pass therethrough without being walked-off. The segmented half-wave plate receives the first or second portions of the beams.
G02B 26/08 - Optical devices or arrangements for the control of light using movable or deformable optical elements for controlling the direction of light
10.
COLORLESS, DIRECTIONLESS AND CONTENTIONLESS NETWORK NODE
A node that is colorless, directionless and contentionless includes an add/drop terminal having an add wavelength selective switch (WSS) and a drop WSS. The add and drop WSSs are each configured to selectively direct any subset of the wavelength components received at any of its inputs to a different one of its optical outputs, provided that the wavelength components of optical beams received by any two of the inputs cannot be simultaneously directed to a common one of the outputs. A plurality of transponder ports are each optically coupled to a different output of the drop WSS and a different input of the add WSS.
An optical device includes an optical port array having first and second optical inputs for receiving optical beams and a first plurality of optical outputs associated with switching functionality and a second plurality of optical outputs associated with channel monitoring functionality. A dispersion element receives the optical beam from an input and spatially separates the beam into a plurality of wavelength components. The focusing element focuses the wavelength components. The optical path conversion system receives the plurality of wavelength components and selectively directs each one to a prescribed one of the optical ports. The photodetectors are each associated with one of the optical outputs in the second plurality of optical outputs and receive a wavelength component therefrom. The controller causes the optical path conversion system to simultaneously direct each of the wavelength components to a different one of the optical outputs of the second plurality of optical outputs.
G02B 6/35 - Optical coupling means having switching means
G02B 6/293 - Optical coupling means having data bus means, i.e. plural waveguides interconnected and providing an inherently bidirectional system by mixing and splitting signals with wavelength selective means
H04J 14/02 - Wavelength-division multiplex systems
12.
WAVELENGTH SELECTIVE SWITCH HAVING INTEGRATED CHANNEL MONITOR
An optical device includes an optical port array having first and second optical inputs for receiving optical beams and a first plurality of optical outputs associated with switching functionality and a second plurality of optical outputs associated with channel monitoring functionality. A dispersion element receives the optical beam from an input and spatially separates the beam into a plurality of wavelength components. The focusing element focuses the wavelength components. The optical path conversion system receives the plurality of wavelength components and selectively directs each one to a prescribed one of the optical ports. The photodetectors are each associated with one of the optical outputs in the second plurality of optical outputs and receive a wavelength component therefrom. The controller causes the optical path conversion system to simultaneously direct each of the wavelength components to a different one of the optical outputs of the second plurality of optical outputs.
An optical device in which crosstalk due to scattering is reduced includes an optical port array having at least one optical input for receiving an optical beam and at least one optical output. The input and outputs extend along a common axis. A dispersion element receives the optical beam from the optical input and spatially separates the optical beam into a plurality of wavelength components. A focusing element focuses the plurality of wavelength components and a programmable optical phase modulator receives the focused plurality of wavelength components. The modulator is configured to steer the wavelength components to a selected one of the optical outputs. The programmable optical phase modulator is oriented with respect to the optical port array so that an axis along which the optical beam is steered is non-coincident with the common axis along which the input and outputs extend.
G02B 26/08 - Optical devices or arrangements for the control of light using movable or deformable optical elements for controlling the direction of light
A wavelength selective switch for selectively switching optical wavelength components of an optical signal uses both LCoS and MEMs switching technologies to improve device performance. Specific performance improvements may include more ports, better spectral performance and isolation, improved dynamic crosstalk, more flexible attenuation options, integrated channel monitoring and compressed switch heights.
G02F 1/29 - Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulatingNon-linear optics for the control of the position or the direction of light beams, i.e. deflection
G02B 26/08 - Optical devices or arrangements for the control of light using movable or deformable optical elements for controlling the direction of light
A method of monitoring a WDM optical signal is provided. The method includes: receiving a WDM optical signal having a plurality of channels; detecting the optical signal after filtering the WDM optical signal with a tunable filter; and reconfiguring at least the center wavelength and bandwidth of the tunable filter optical transfer function to determine a signal performance parameter of the WDM optical signal.
A method and apparatus are provided for attenuating an optical beam. The method includes selecting a level of attenuation to be applied to the optical beam. A pattern of on-state and off-state pixels in a two dimensional spatial light modulator (SLM) is selected such that the pattern will modulate the optical beam to provide the selected level of attenuation. Finally, the optical beam is directed onto the SLM while the pixels are arranged in the selected pattern. The pattern is periodic along a first axis and symmetric along a second axis along which an intensity distribution of the optical beam extends.
G02B 26/02 - Optical devices or arrangements for the control of light using movable or deformable optical elements for controlling the intensity of light
A multiwavelength switch is provided. The switch includes at least one optical input for receiving an optical beam and at least two optical outputs. A dispersion element receives the optical beam from the optical input and spatially separates the optical beam into a plurality of wavelength components. A collimating element is provided for collimating the plurality of wavelength components. An actuatable optical arrangement receives the collimated plurality of wavelength components from the collimating element. The actuatable optical arrangement includes a digital micromirror device (DMD) from which at least one wavelength component is reflected at least twice before being directed to a selected one of optical outputs.
A programmable encoder is provided that includes at least one optical input for receiving a modulated broadband optical signal and at least one optical output. A dispersion element receives the optical signal from the optical input and spatially separates the optical signal into a plurality of wavelength components. A collimating element is provided for collimating the plurality of wavelength components. An actuatable optical arrangement receives the collimated plurality of wavelength components from the collimating element. The actuatable optical arrangement includes a digital micromirror device (DMD) from which a programmably selected subset of wavelength components are reflected at least twice before being directed to a selected one of optical outputs to thereby encode the CDMA signal.
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