Optical add/drop multiplexer having a banded channel configuration
First Claim
1. An optical apparatus, comprising a plurality of ports having first, second, and third ports, which apparatus is adapted to route optical signals between different ports based on wavelength, wherein:
- the optical signals correspond to two or more sets of channels, each set having one or more channels with a corresponding bandwidth value;
at least two different sets of channels have different bandwidth values; and
the optical apparatus comprises a routing device adapted to;
route optical signals corresponding to a first group of channels between the first port and the second port; and
route optical signals corresponding to a second group of channels between the first port and the third port.
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Abstract
An optical add/drop multiplexer (OADM) adapted to route optical signals having at least two different bit rates. The OADM has at least two sets of DWDM channels, e.g., with channels in a first set having a first bandwidth value suitable for the transmission of 10-Gb/s signals and channels in a second set having a second bandwidth value suitable for the transmission of 40-Gb/s signals. The first and second sets occupy two different spectral bands and the first set has two subsets of interleaved channels. In one embodiment, the OADM has first and second optical branches adapted to process optical signals corresponding to first and second groups of channels, respectively. The first group includes a first subset from the first set while the second group includes the second set and a second subset from the first set. Advantageously, OADMs of the invention may be used to create independent processing paths for different groups of channels. As a result, a communication system having those OADMs can be upgraded, e.g., to add a new 40-Gb/s service and/or to populate additional 10-Gb/s channels substantially without interrupting the 10-Gb/s service already in place.
43 Citations
36 Claims
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1. An optical apparatus, comprising a plurality of ports having first, second, and third ports, which apparatus is adapted to route optical signals between different ports based on wavelength, wherein:
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the optical signals correspond to two or more sets of channels, each set having one or more channels with a corresponding bandwidth value;
at least two different sets of channels have different bandwidth values; and
the optical apparatus comprises a routing device adapted to;
route optical signals corresponding to a first group of channels between the first port and the second port; and
route optical signals corresponding to a second group of channels between the first port and the third port. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method of transmitting optical signals, comprising:
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routing optical signals corresponding to a first group of channels between a first port and a second port of an optical routing device; and
routing optical signals corresponding to a second group of channels between the first port and a third port of said optical routing device, wherein;
the optical signals correspond to two or more sets of channels, each set having one or more channels with a corresponding bandwidth value; and
at least two different sets of channels have different bandwidth values. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. Apparatus, comprising:
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means for routing optical signals corresponding to a first group of channels between a first port and a second port of an optical routing device; and
means for routing optical signals corresponding to a second group of channels between the first port and a third port of said optical routing device, wherein;
the optical signals correspond to two or more sets of channels, each set having one or more channels with a corresponding bandwidth value; and
at least two different sets of channels have different bandwidth values.
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36. A communication network, comprising a plurality of nodes adapted to exchange communication signals, wherein at least one node includes an optical apparatus having a plurality of ports including first, second, and third ports, which apparatus is adapted to route optical signals between different ports based on wavelength, wherein:
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the optical signals correspond to two or more sets of channels, each set having one or more channels with a corresponding bandwidth value;
at least two different sets of channels have different bandwidth values; and
the optical apparatus comprises a routing device adapted to;
route optical signals corresponding to a first group of channels between the first port and the second port; and
route optical signals corresponding to a second group of channels between the first port and the third port.
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Specification