Method and system for managing optical subcarrier reception
First Claim
1. A method for managing an optical subcarrier modulation signal in a communication network, wherein the communication network includes first and second sites connected by a fiber link carrying a multi-wavelength modulated optical data signal between the first and second sites, and wherein the multi-wavelength modulated optical data signal includes a first wavelength component and a second wavelength component, comprising the steps of:
- (1) generating a subcarrier modulation signal in a subcarrier channel;
(2) superimposing the subcarrier modulation signal onto the multi-wavelength modulated optical data signal at the first site to produce a composite signal;
(3) transmitting the composite signal along the fiber link;
(4) receiving the composite signal at the second site; and
(5) communicating the subcarrier modulation signal received at the second site to the subcarrier channel.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus are provided for high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) optical subcarrier management and reception in a communication network. In a multiple-wavelength optical communications link, ancillary signals that are conveyed by low-level intensity-modulated subcarriers are received with increased sensitivity in the subcarrier channel of the network. An increased SNR is accomplished by passing the same ancillary signal along all the carriers and by combining the received signals at a summing amplifier in the electrical domain.
103 Citations
29 Claims
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1. A method for managing an optical subcarrier modulation signal in a communication network, wherein the communication network includes first and second sites connected by a fiber link carrying a multi-wavelength modulated optical data signal between the first and second sites, and wherein the multi-wavelength modulated optical data signal includes a first wavelength component and a second wavelength component, comprising the steps of:
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(1) generating a subcarrier modulation signal in a subcarrier channel; (2) superimposing the subcarrier modulation signal onto the multi-wavelength modulated optical data signal at the first site to produce a composite signal; (3) transmitting the composite signal along the fiber link; (4) receiving the composite signal at the second site; and (5) communicating the subcarrier modulation signal received at the second site to the subcarrier channel. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for generating an optical subcarrier modulation signal in a communication network, wherein the communication network includes first and second sites connected by a fiber link carrying a multi-wavelength modulated optical data signal between the first and second sites, comprising the steps of:
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(1) generating a subcarrier modulation signal in a subcarrier channel, wherein the subcarrier modulation signal comprises ancillary network data, and wherein the subcarrier channel is in communication with the first and second sites; (2) combining the subcarrier modulation signal with a first high data rate modulation signal and with a second high data rate modulation signal; and (3) generating the multi-wavelength modulated optical data signal at the first site, wherein the multi-wavelength modulated optical data signal includes a first wavelength component, a second wavelength component, and the subcarrier modulation signal, wherein the first wavelength component of the multi-wavelength modulated optical data signal corresponds to a first carrier signal comprising the first high data rate modulation signal and the second wavelength component of the multi-wavelength modulated optical data signal corresponds to a second carrier signal comprising the second high data rate modulation signal.
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15. A method for receiving an optical subcarrier modulation signal with an increased signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in a communication network, wherein the communication network includes first and second sites connected by a fiber link carrying a multi-wavelength modulated optical data signal between the first and second sites, wherein the multi-wavelength modulated optical data signal includes a plurality of wavelength components, comprising the steps of:
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(1) de-multiplexing the multi-wavelength modulated optical data signal into the plurality wavelength components, wherein each of the plurality of wavelength components of the multi-wavelength modulated optical data signal further comprises a subcarrier modulation signal; (2) detecting the plurality of wavelength components; (3) generating a plurality of electrical signals that correspond respectively to the plurality of wavelength components; (4) combining subcarrier components of the plurality of electrical signals in a summing amplifier; (5) adding the subcarrier components in the summing amplifier to generate a composite subcarrier modulation signal; and (6) sending the composite subcarrier modulation signal to subcarrier network equipment located in a subcarrier channel of the communication network.
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16. An apparatus for increased signal-to-noisc ratio (SNR) optical subcarrier management within a communication network, wherein said network comprises first and second network sites connected by a fiber link carrying a multi-wavelength modulated optical data signal, wherein the multi-wavelength modulated optical data signal includes a first wavelength component and a second wavelength component, comprising:
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a subcarrier channel coupled to the first and second network sites of the network to generate and receive a subcarrier modulation signal, a transmitter located at the first network site to transmit the multi-wavelength modulated optical data signal along the fiber link, wherein the multi-wavelength modulated optical data signal includes said subcarrier modulation signal; and a receiver located at the second network site to receive the multi-wavelength modulated optical data signal from thc fiber link and to send said subcarrier modulation signal to said subcarrier channel. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A system for managing an optical subcarrier in an optical communication network, comprising:
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a subcarrier generator, coupled to a first site, to generate a subcarrier modulation signal containing ancillary network data; a modulator, located at said first site, which superimposes said subcarrier modulation signal on a first optical carrier data signal having a first wavelength and on a second optical carrier data signal having a second wavelength, wherein said first optical carrier data signal corresponds to a first high data rate modulation signal and said second optical carrier data signal corresponds to a second optical data carder signal, a multiplexer, located at said first site, to combine said first optical carrier data signal and said second optical carrier data signal into a multi-wavelength modulated optical data signal; at least one fiber link connecting said first site to a second site, for transporting said multi-wavelength modulated optical data signal with said subcarrier modulation signal through said optical communication network; a receiver, located at said second site and coupled to said at least one fiber link, which de-multiplexes multi-wavelength modulated optical data signal and recovers said subcarrier modulation signal from said first and second optical data carrier signals; a summing amplifier, coupled to said receiver at said second site, to combine said subcarrier modulation signal from said multi-wavelength modulated optical data signal received at said receiver, and to generate a composite subcarrier modulation signal having an increased SNR corresponding to said subcarrier modulation signal generated by said subcarrier modulation signal generator; a subcarrier receiver, coupled to said summing amplifier, to receive said composite subcarrier modulation signal; a demultiplexer, located at said second site, to separate said first optical carrier data signal and said second optical carrier data signal; a photodetector coupled to said demultiplexer for recovering the subcarrier modulation signal; and a network management system, wherein said network management system manages said optical communication network based on said recovered ancillary network data output.
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Specification