OPTICAL SIGNAL MONITORING APPARATUS, OPTICAL SYSTEM AND OPTICAL SIGNAL MONITORING METHOD

• US 20080226290A1
• Filed: 03/05/2008
• Published: 09/18/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/06/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, Ntt Electronics Corporation (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, Ntt Electronics Corporation (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Nagano, Mitsuru, Yamada, Tomoyuki, Ogawa, Ikuo, Goh, Takashi, Itoh, Mikitaka, Saida, Takashi, Kamei, Shin, Kaneko, Akimasa, Doi, Yoshiyuki, Sohma, Shunichi, Ohyama, Takaharu
• Application Number:
  US12/042,767
• Publication Number:
  US 20080226290A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 398/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/07955 Monitoring or measuring power

Abstract

By reducing the number of PD arrays, and by simplifying the configuration of an optical power monitor in a WDM system, a miniaturized, cost reduced optical signal monitoring apparatus, optical system or optical signal monitoring method is provided. An optical power monitor 1 has an optical switch 30 having four input ports 31, a DMUX 2 having 48 output ports, and six CSP type PD array modules 50 each including an 8-channel PD array. The output port 32 of the optical switch 30 having four switchable input ports 31 is optically connected to the input port 21 of the AWG 20. The 48 output ports 22 of the AWG 20 are each optically connected to photosensitive surfaces 53 of the individual PDs included in the CSP type PD array modules 50. The CSP type PD array modules 50 are mounted on the end face of the AWG 20.

Claims

1. An optical signal monitoring apparatus comprising:

an optical switch with at least one of input port and output port in plural form;

a wavelength demultiplexer that has at least one input port and a plurality of output ports, and has its input port optically connected to the output port of said optical switch; and

a photo diode array mounted on the output ports of said wavelength demultiplexer.

2. The optical signal monitoring apparatus of claim 1, wherein said the output ports of said wavelength demultiplexer and said photo diode array are implemented via an optical path conversion mirror.

3. The optical signal monitoring apparatus of claim 1, wherein said plurality of photo diodes consisted of said photo diode array are optically connected to the output ports of said wavelength demultiplexer being spaced at a prescribed wavelength channel interval.

4. The optical signal monitoring apparatus of claim 2, wherein said plurality of photo diodes consisted of said photo diode array are optically connected to the output ports of said wavelength demultiplexer being spaced at a prescribed wavelength channel interval.

5. The optical signal monitoring apparatus of claim 3, wherein dummy photo diodes are placed among the plurality of photo diodes consisted of said photo diode array.

6. The optical signal monitoring apparatus of claim 4, wherein dummy photo diodes are placed among the plurality of photo diodes consisted of said photo diode array.

7. An optical system having a configuration of monitoring a WDM signal at a plurality of positions, said optical system comprising:

a plurality of branching sections for branching a part of the WDM signal at each monitoring position; and

the optical signal monitoring apparatus as defined in claim 1, which is optically connected to each of said plurality of branching sections respectively.