Flexible band tunable add/drop multiplexer and modular optical node architecture
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An optical add/drop multiplexer comprising:
- a flexible band tunable filter which receives an input optical signal and which selectively drops a tunable waveband of contiguous channels from the input optical signal; and
a demultiplexer coupled to the flexible band tunable filter which receives the dropped waveband and separates the dropped waveband into individual dropped channels.
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Abstract
An improved optical add/drop multiplexer design is disclosed which utilizes flexible band tunable filters and colorless demultiplexers to process any contiguous group of channels. A modular optical add/drop architecture is also disclosed which allows additional processing capabilities to be added module by module in a cost-effective fashion.
41 Citations
20 Claims
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1. An optical add/drop multiplexer comprising:
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a flexible band tunable filter which receives an input optical signal and which selectively drops a tunable waveband of contiguous channels from the input optical signal; and
a demultiplexer coupled to the flexible band tunable filter which receives the dropped waveband and separates the dropped waveband into individual dropped channels. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A modular optical add/drop architecture comprising:
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an express module which receives an input optical signal and selectively drops a tunable waveband of channels in the input optical signal while passing unselected channels to an output optical signal; and
one or more optical add/drop modules coupled to the express module which receive the tunable waveband and which select one or more channels in the tunable waveband for forwarding to one or more drop ports, wherein the optical add/drop modules can be selectively decoupled and recoupled with the express module to change capabilities of the modular optical add/drop architecture. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A modular optical add/drop architecture comprising one or more modules, at least one module of which comprises:
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an input port;
an output port;
a cascade down port; and
a flexible band tunable filter which selectively drops a tunable waveband of channels from an optical signal received at the input port and forwards the tunable waveband to the cascade down port while passing unselected channels to the output port;
wherein the cascade down port is adapted to couple to other modules in the modular optical add/drop architecture which can further process the tunable waveband. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification