WAVELENGTH SELECTIVE SWITCH WITH REDUCED CHROMATIC DISPERSION AND POLARIZATION-DEPENDENT LOSS
First Claim
1. A reduced polarization-dependent loss optical system comprising two or more dispersive elements and a turning mirror.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A reduced polarization-dependent loss optical device utilizing two or more dispersive elements or a single dispersive element and a turning mirror, wherein the optical signal makes two passes through said single dispersive element when reflected from said turning mirror, and wherein the two or more dispersive elements or double pass single dispersive element has lower dispersion compared to a functionally equivalent single dispersive element, resulting in lower polarization dependent loss, reduced chromatic dispersion and increased wavelength dispersion. Moreover, a wavelength selective switch incorporating the optical device utilizing aperture-shared optics and functionally distinct planes of operation that enables high fiber port counts, such as 1×41, and multiplicative expansion, such as to 1×83 or 1×145, by utilizing elements optimized for performance in one of the functionally distinct planes of operation without affecting the other plane.
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Citations
92 Claims
- 1. A reduced polarization-dependent loss optical system comprising two or more dispersive elements and a turning mirror.
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6. A method of reducing polarization dependent loss and chromatic dispersion in a wavelength selective switch, said method comprising the step of:
incorporating two or more dispersive elements and a turning mirror into said switch. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8)
- 9. A reduced polarization-dependent loss optical system comprising two or more dispersive elements, wherein each of said two or more dispersive elements has lower dispersion than a functionally equivalent single dispersive element.
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14. A method of reducing polarization dependent loss and chromatic dispersion in a wavelength selective switch, said method comprising the step of:
incorporating two or more dispersive elements into said switch. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17)
- 18. A reduced polarization-dependent loss optical system comprising a single dispersive element and a turning mirror, wherein an optical signal passes through said single dispersive element, is reflected from said turning mirror, and passes a second time through said single dispersive element.
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22. A method of reducing polarization dependent loss and chromatic dispersion in a wavelength selective switch, said method comprising the step of:
incorporating a single dispersive element and a turning mirror into said switch, wherein an optical signal passes through said single dispersive element, is reflected from said turning mirror, and passes a second time through said single dispersive element. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26)
- 27. A reduced polarization-dependent loss optical device comprising a single dispersive element and a turning mirror, wherein an optical signal reflects from said single dispersive element, is reflected from said turning mirror, and reflects a second time from said single dispersive element.
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32. A method of reducing polarization dependent loss and chromatic dispersion in a wavelength selective switch, said method comprising the step of:
incorporating a single dispersive element and a turning mirror into said switch, wherein an optical signal reflects from said single dispersive element, is reflected from said turning mirror, and reflects a second time from said single dispersive element. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A reduced polarization-dependent loss optical device comprising:
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a beam splitter; and two or more dispersive elements, wherein said two or more dispersive elements each receive a portion of a circularly-polarized optical signal from said beam splitter. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40)
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41. A method of reducing polarization dependent loss and chromatic dispersion in a wavelength selective optical switch, said method comprising the step of:
incorporating a beam splitter and two or more dispersive elements into said switch, wherein said two or more dispersive elements each receive a portion of a circularly-polarized optical signal from said beam splitter. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43)
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44. A wavelength selective switch for switching wavelengths from one or more optical signals, each signal comprising one or more optical wavelengths, each constituting a work piece, the wavelength selective switch comprising:
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a plurality of fiber ports arranged in a fiber port array; a plurality of optical elements operable with said plurality of fiber ports; two or more dispersive elements operable with said plurality of fiber ports to separate at least one optical signal into a plurality of wavelength components, wherein said two or more dispersive elements each have lower dispersion than a functionally equivalent single dispersive element; and a switching element operable with said plurality of wavelength components and controllable to guide a selected one of said plurality of wavelength components to a selected one of said plurality of fiber ports. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52)
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53. A wavelength selective switch for switching wavelengths from one or more optical signals, the signal comprising one or more optical wavelengths, each constituting a work piece, the wavelength selective switch comprising:
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a plurality of fiber ports arranged in a fiber port array; a plurality of optical elements operable with said plurality of fiber ports; a turning mirror; a single dispersive element operable with said plurality of fiber ports to separate at least one optical signal into a plurality of wavelength components, wherein an optical signal passes through said single dispersive element, is reflected from said turning mirror, and passes a second time through said single dispersive element; and a switching element operable with the plurality of wavelength components and controllable to guide a selected one of the plurality of wavelength components to a selected one of said plurality of fiber ports. - View Dependent Claims (54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65)
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66. A wavelength selective switch for switching wavelengths from one or more optical signals, the signal comprising one or more optical wavelengths, each constituting a work piece, the wavelength selective switch comprising:
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a plurality of fiber ports arranged in a fiber port array; a plurality of optical elements operable with said plurality of fiber ports; two or more dispersive elements operable with said plurality of fiber ports to separate at least one optical signal into a plurality of wavelength components, wherein each of said two or more dispersive elements has lower dispersion than a functionally equivalent single dispersive element; a switching element operable with said plurality of wavelength components and controllable to guide a selected one of said plurality of wavelength components to a selected one of said plurality of fiber ports, and a beam steering element operable to converge a common wavelength from said plurality of fiber ports on to a specific wavelength-associated switching element; wherein at least one of said plurality of optical elements, said dispersive element, and said switching element affects an optical property of at least one optical signal in a first plane, and wherein said at least one of said plurality of optical elements, said dispersive element, and said switching element does not substantially affect said optical property in a second plane, said first plane being generally orthogonal to said second plane. - View Dependent Claims (67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79)
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80. A wavelength selective switch for switching wavelengths from one or more optical signals, the signal comprising one or more optical wavelengths, each constituting a work piece, the wavelength selective switch comprising:
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a plurality of fiber ports arranged in a fiber port array; a plurality of optical elements operable with said plurality of fiber ports; a turning mirror; a single dispersive element operable with said plurality of fiber ports to separate at least one optical signal into a plurality of wavelength components, wherein an optical signal passes through said single dispersive element, is reflected from said turning mirror, and passes a second time through said single dispersive element; and a switching element operable with the plurality of wavelength components and controllable to guide a selected one of the plurality of wavelength components to a selected one of said plurality of fiber ports, and a beam steering element operable to converge a common wavelength from said plurality of fiber ports on to a specific wavelength-associated switching element; wherein at least one of said plurality of optical elements, said dispersive element, and said switching element affects an optical property of at least one optical signal in a first plane, and wherein said at least one of said plurality of optical elements, said dispersive element, and said switching element does not substantially affect said optical property in a second plane, said first plane being generally orthogonal to said second plane. - View Dependent Claims (81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92)
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Specification