N-DEGREE CDC WSX ROADM

• US 20180192168A1
• Filed: 02/28/2018
• Published: 07/05/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2014
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Oplink Communications, LLC (KOCH Industries Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Oplink Communications US Division LLC (KOCH Industries Incorporated)
• Application Number:
  US15/908,171
• Publication Number:
  US 20180192168A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• 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 14/02122 Colourless, directionless or contentionless [CDC] arrangements
• 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

An apparatus includes N 1×2 ingress tap couplers, a wavelength blocker array, N 2×1 egress tap couplers, and a wavelength selective cross-connect (WSX) array. A tapped branch of each ingress tap coupler is coupled to a degree drop and where N>1. The wavelength blocker array has N wavelength blocking units, each wavelength blocking unit coupled to a corresponding one of the N 1×2 ingress tap couplers. A tapped branch of each egress tap coupler is coupled to a degree add. The wavelength selective cross-connect (WSX) array is coupled between the wavelength blocker array and the N 2×1 egress tap couplers, where the WSX array includes a plurality of independently switched 2×2 WSX switches.

Claims

1. 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.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, 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.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, 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.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, 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.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the WSX array includes eight 2×

2 WSX switches.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the WSX array includes twenty-four 2×

2 WSX switches.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a same wavelength channel received from different ingress tap couplers are routed by the WSX array to different egress tap couplers concurrently.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, 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.