Method and apparatus for balancing the power of optical channels traversing an optical add drop multiplexer
First Claim
1. A method of power balancing an optical signal wavelength to be added to an OADM having at least one drop port and at least one add port, said method comprising the steps of:
- monitoring a power level of a first signal wavelength being dropped on the drop port;
monitoring a power level of a second signal wavelength being added on the add port;
comparing the power level of the first signal wavelength to the power level of the second signal wavelength;
based on the step of comparing, adjusting optical attenuation along the add port so that the power level of the second signal wavelength becomes substantially equal to the power level of the first signal wavelength.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus is provided for power balancing an optical signal wavelength to be added to an OADM having at least one drop port and at least one add port. The method begins by monitoring a power level of a first signal wavelength being dropped on the drop port and a power level of a second signal wavelength being added on the add port. The power level of the first signal wavelength is compared to the power level of the second signal wavelength. Based on the step of comparing, the optical attenuation is adjusted along the add port so that the power level of the second signal wavelength becomes substantially equal to the power level of the first signal wavelength.
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Citations
44 Claims
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1. A method of power balancing an optical signal wavelength to be added to an OADM having at least one drop port and at least one add port, said method comprising the steps of:
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monitoring a power level of a first signal wavelength being dropped on the drop port;
monitoring a power level of a second signal wavelength being added on the add port;
comparing the power level of the first signal wavelength to the power level of the second signal wavelength;
based on the step of comparing, adjusting optical attenuation along the add port so that the power level of the second signal wavelength becomes substantially equal to the power level of the first signal wavelength. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method of power balancing an optical signal wavelength to be added to OADM having a plurality of drop ports and at least one add port, said method comprising the steps of:
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monitoring a power level on each of the plurality of drop ports;
monitoring a power level of a second signal wavelength being added on the add port;
comparing the power level of at least one first signal wavelength traversing one of the plurality of drop ports to the power level of the second signal wavelength;
based on the step of comparing, adjusting optical attenuation along the add port so that the power level of the second signal wavelength becomes substantially equal to the power level of the first signal wavelength. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An optical add drop multiplexer (OADM) comprising:
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an input port for receiving a WDM optical signal that includes a plurality of signal wavelengths;
at least one drop port for extracting one of the plurality of signal wavelengths from the WDM optical signal;
at least one add port for inserting an add wavelength into the WDM optical signal;
an output port for transmitting to an external element the WDM optical signal with the add wavelength present and the extracted one of the plurality of wavelengths absent;
a first monitoring arrangement for monitoring a power level of said extracted one of the plurality of signal wavelengths;
a second monitoring arrangement for monitoring a power level of the add wavelength;
a comparator for comparing the power level of said extracted one of the plurality of signal wavelengths to the power level of the add wavelength; and
a variable optical attenuator coupled to the add port for adjusting optical attenuation of the add wavelength in response to a control signal received from the comparator. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. An optical add drop multiplexer (OADM) comprising:
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an input port for receiving a WDM optical signal that includes a plurality of signal wavelengths;
a plurality of drop ports each extracting one of the plurality of signal wavelengths from the WDM optical signal;
a plurality of add ports each inserting an add signal wavelength into the WDM optical signal;
an output port for transmitting to an external element the WDM optical signal with one or more add wavelengths present and one or more extracted wavelengths absent;
a plurality of first monitoring arrangements each associated with one of the drop ports, each of said first monitoring arrangements monitoring a power level of one of the extracted wavelengths and generating a first reference signal in response thereto;
a plurality of second monitoring arrangements each associated with one of the add ports, each of said second monitoring arrangements monitoring a power level of one of the add wavelengths and generating a second reference signal in response thereto;
a processor receiving the plurality of first reference signals and selecting one of the plurality of first reference signals that represents a non-zero optical power level;
a comparator arrangement for comparing the selected one of the first reference signals to each of the second reference signals; and
a plurality of variable optical attenuators respectively coupled to the plurality of add ports for adjusting optical attenuation of the add wavelengths in response to control signals received from the comparator arrangement. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. An optical add drop multiplexer (OADM) comprising:
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an input port for receiving a WDM optical signal that includes a plurality of signal wavelengths;
at least one drop port for extracting one of the plurality of signal wavelengths from the WDM optical signal;
at least one add port for inserting an add wavelength into the WDM optical signal;
an output port for transmitting to an external element the WDM optical signal with the add wavelength present and the extracted one of the plurality of wavelengths absent;
a first monitoring arrangement for monitoring an average power level of the signal wavelengths in said WDM optical signal;
a second monitoring arrangement for monitoring a power level of the add wavelength;
a comparator for comparing the average power level of the signal wavelengths in said WDM signal to the power level of the add wavelength; and
a variable optical attenuator coupled to the add port for adjusting optical attenuation of the add wavelength in response to a control signal received from the comparator. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A method of power balancing an optical signal wavelength to be added to OADM having an input port for receiving a WDM optical signal that includes a plurality of signal wavelengths, at least one drop port, at least one add port, and an output port, said method comprising the steps of:
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monitoring an average power level of the signal wavelengths in the WDM signal;
monitoring a power level of a second signal wavelength being added on the add port;
comparing the average power level of the signal wavelengths in the WDM signal to the power level of the second signal wavelength;
based on the step of comparing, adjusting optical attenuation along the add port so that the power level of the second signal wavelength becomes substantially equal to the average power level of the signal wavelengths in the WDM optical signal. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
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Specification