N-DEGREE CDC WSX ROADM

• US 20150256908A1
• Filed: 03/05/2014
• Published: 09/10/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2014
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Oplink Communications, LLC (KOCH Industries Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Oplink Communications
• Inventors: Zhu, Tian, Liu, Kun, Mao, Hongwei, Ji, Guijun, Gong, Lifu
• Application Number:
  US14/198,376
• Publication Number:
  US 20150256908A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 14/0204 Broadcast and select arrangements, e.g. with an optical splitter at the input before adding or dropping
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 14/0205 Select and combine arrangements, e.g. with an optical combiner at the output after adding or dropping
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 14/021 Reconfigurable arrangements, e.g. reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexers [ROADM] or tunable optical add/drop multiplexers [TOADM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 14/0212 using optical switches or wavelength selective switches [WSS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 14/0217 Multi-degree architectures, e.g. having a connection degree greater than two
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/62 Wavelength based optical switching H04Q11/0062
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 11/0005 Switch and router aspects

Abstract

Methods, systems, and apparatus, for optical communications. One apparatus includes a plurality of ingress ports coupled to N units of 1×n splitters, wherein each 1×n splitter includes a plurality of cross connect ingress branches and a drop branch; a plurality of egress ports coupled to N units of n×1 combiners, wherein each n×1 combiner includes a plurality of cross connect egress branches and an add branch; a M×M′ fiber shuffle providing cross connect between the ingress branches and the egress branches such that each branch from an ingress 1×n splitter is linked to a branch of each n×1 combiner; and a wavelength blocker array comprising N×n wavelength blocker units where n≧N wavelength blocker units, each wavelength blocker unit coupled to a fiber of the M×M′ fiber shuffle.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a plurality of ingress ports coupled to N units of 1×

n splitters, wherein each 1×

n splitter includes a plurality of cross connect ingress branches and a drop branch;

a plurality of egress ports coupled to N units of n×

1 combiners, wherein each n×

1 combiner includes a plurality of cross connect egress branches and an add branch;

a M×

M′

fiber shuffle providing cross connect between the ingress branches and the egress branches such that each branch from an ingress 1×

n splitter is linked to a branch of each n×

1 combiner; and

a wavelength blocker array comprising N×

n wavelength blocker units where n≧

N, each wavelength blocker unit coupled to a fiber of the M×

M′

fiber shuffle.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wavelength blocker array is positioned such that each wavelength blocker unit is also optically coupled to an ingress branch of one of the 1×

n splitters such that each wavelength blocker unit includes an input port coupled to a corresponding ingress branch and an output port coupled to a fiber of the M×

M′

fiber shuffle.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein each wavelength blocker unit includes an input port coupled to the drop branches of the N units of 1×

n splitters.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wavelength blocker array is positioned such that each wavelength blocker unit is also optically coupled to an egress branch of one of the n×

1 combiners such that each wavelength blocker unit includes an input port coupled to a fiber of the M×

M′

fiber shuffle and an output port coupled to a corresponding egress branch.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein each wavelength blocker unit includes an input port coupled to the add branches of the N units of n×

1 combiners.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each wavelength blocker unit is configured to selectively pass, block, or attenuate an input wavelength channel.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a second wavelength blocker array coupled to the M×

M′

fiber shuffle.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the wavelength blocker array is coupled to the drop branches of N units of 1×

n splitters and the second wavelength blocker array is coupled to the add branches of the N units of n×

1 combiners.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each drop branch is coupled to one of a plurality of degree drop ports.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the plurality of degree drop ports are coupled to a twin multi-cast switch, and wherein a wavelength channel received from a particular degree drop port is selectively added by the twin multi-cast switch to a degree add port coupled to an add branch of one or more of the n×

1 combiners.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each splitter is configured to separate one or more input wavelength channels to each branch and wherein a particular wavelength channel of a particular branch that is coupled to a one or more selected egress ports through the M×

M′

fiber shuffle is allowed to pass through the wavelength blocker array.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein one or more of M or M′

is equal to N².

13. An apparatus comprising:

N 1×

2 ingress tap couplers, wherein a tapped branch of each ingress tap coupler is coupled to a degree drop and wherein N>

1;

a wavelength blocker array having N wavelength blocking units, each wavelength blocking unit coupled to a corresponding one of the N 1×

2 ingress tap couplers;

N 2×

1 egress tap couplers, wherein a tapped branch of each egress tap coupler is coupled to a degree add; and

a wavelength selective cross-connect (WSX) array coupled between the wavelength blocker array and the N 2×

1 egress tap couplers, wherein the WSX array comprises a plurality of independently switched 2×

2 WSX switches.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein each wavelength blocker unit includes an input port coupled to a corresponding ingress tap coupler and an output port coupled to an input port of a particular 2×

2 WSX switch.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein each WSX switch includes two input ports and two output ports and wherein each WSX switch is independently controllable to switch between a bar state and a cross state, each switch state determining which input ports are coupled to which output ports.

16. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein based on a particular switch setting for the WSX array, a wavelength channel input to a first 2×

2 WSX switch of the WSX array is routed through a series of the 2×

2 WSX switches to a specified egress tap coupler.

17. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the WSX array includes eight 2×

2 WSX switches.

18. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the WSX array includes twenty-four 2×

2 WSX switches.

19. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein a same wavelength channel received from different ingress tap couplers are routed by the WSX array to different egress tap couplers concurrently.

20. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein a wavelength channel input at a particular ingress tap coupler can be routed to a first egress tap coupler while the same wavelength channel can be added from a degree add port and routed to a second egress tap coupler.

21. An apparatus comprising:

a plurality of ingress ports;

a wavelength blocker array having a plurality of wavelength blocking units, each wavelength blocking unit coupled to a corresponding one of the plurality of ingress ports;

a plurality of egress ports;

a plurality of degree drop ports;

a plurality of degree add ports; and

a wavelength selective cross-connect (WSX) array comprising a plurality of 2×

2 independently switched 2×

2 wavelength selective cross-connect switches, wherein the WSX array is coupled to the wavelength blocker array, the plurality of egress ports, the plurality of degree drop ports, and the plurality of degree add ports.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein each wavelength blocker unit includes an input port coupled to a corresponding ingress port and an output port coupled to an input port of a particular 2×

2 WSX switch.

23. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein each WSX switch includes two input ports and two output ports and wherein each WSX switch is independently controllable to switch between a bar state and a cross state, each switch state determining which input ports are coupled to which output ports.

24. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein based on a particular switch setting for the WSX array, a wavelength channel input to a first 2×

2 WSX switch of the WSX array is routed through a series of the 2×

2 WSX switches to a specified egress port.

25. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the WSX array includes sixteen 2×

2 WSX switches.

26. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein a same wavelength channel received from different ingress ports are routed by the WSX array to different egress ports concurrently.

27. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein a wavelength channel received at the WSX array from a first ingress port is routed to a degree drop port and a same wavelength channel input at a degree add port is routed by the WSX array to a particular egress port.

28. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein a wavelength channel received at the WSX array from a first ingress port is selectively routed to any one of the degree drop ports depending on a switch setting of the WSX array.

29. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein a wavelength channel received at the WSX array from any of the ingress ports are selectively routed to a same degree drop port.

30. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein a wavelength channel received at the WSX array from a first degree add port is selectively routed to any one of the egress ports depending on a switch setting of the WSX array.

31. An apparatus comprising:

a plurality of degree drop ports;

a plurality of degree add ports;

a plurality of add ports;

a plurality of drop ports; and

a wavelength selective cross-connect (WSX) array comprising a plurality of 2×

2 independently switched 2×

2 wavelength selective cross-connect switches, wherein the WSX array is coupled to the plurality of degree drop ports, the plurality of degree add ports, the plurality of drop ports, and the plurality of add ports.