Angular dispersion amplification method and apparatus for optical demultiplexing
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An optical demultiplexer, comprising:
- an angular dispersion generator, operative to disperse an incident optical signal into a wavelength plurality of channels each being angularly separated from at least one of the others; and
an angular dispersion amplifier, operative to receive the dispersed optical signal and amplify an angular separation of at least one of the wavelength channels with respect to at least one other wavelength channel in the angularly dispersed optical signal,wherein the angular dispersion amplifier comprises an internal reflection interface with a critical angle, and wherein the channels which are further dispersed having an incident angle smaller than the critical angle.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An optical demultiplexer, having an angular dispersion generator followed by an angular amplifier. The angular dispersion generator disperses an incident optical signal into a plurality of channels. While traveling through the angular dispersion amplifier, the channels with incident angles larger than a critical angle are internally totally reflected, and the channels with incident angles smaller than the critical angle are partly reflected, and partly transmitting into an ambient medium. The transmitting part of the channels are thus further dispersed and demultiplexed.
12 Citations
32 Claims
-
1. An optical demultiplexer, comprising:
-
an angular dispersion generator, operative to disperse an incident optical signal into a wavelength plurality of channels each being angularly separated from at least one of the others; and an angular dispersion amplifier, operative to receive the dispersed optical signal and amplify an angular separation of at least one of the wavelength channels with respect to at least one other wavelength channel in the angularly dispersed optical signal, wherein the angular dispersion amplifier comprises an internal reflection interface with a critical angle, and wherein the channels which are further dispersed having an incident angle smaller than the critical angle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
-
-
18. A method of multiplexing an input, multichannel optical signal, comprising:
-
communicating the input optical signal to an angular dispersion generator; dispersing the input optical signal to define a plurality of angular dispersion channels; communicating a plurality of the channels to be incident upon at least one angular dispersion amplifier having an internal reflection interface; and adjusting the orientation of the internal reflection interface with respect to the incident angles of the channels, such that the channels having incident angles larger than a critical angle at the internal reflection interface are internally reflected, and the channels having incident angles smaller than the critical angle are partly transmitted through the internal reflection interface.
-
-
19. An optical demultiplexer, comprising:
-
an angular dispersion generator, operative to disperse an incident optical signal into a wavelength plurality of channels each being angularly separated from at least one of the others; and an angular dispersion amplifier, operative to receive the dispersed optical signal and amplify an angular separation of at least one of the wavelength channels with respect to at least one other wavelength channel in the angularly dispersed optical signal; wherein the angular dispersion amplifier has an internal reflection interface which totally reflects the remaining channels that are not further dispersed by the angular dispersion amplifier. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22)
-
-
23. A demultiplexer for selectively demultiplexing a multi-channel signal, comprising:
-
an angular dispersion generator, operative to receive an input multi-channel signal, and to split the multi-channel signals into a plurality of angularly dispersed channels separated from each other by an angular dispersion; a first angular dispersion amplifier, operative to receive the angularly dispersed channels and to selectively extract a first fraction of the angularly dispersed channels by amplifying the angular dispersion thereof; and at least one second angular dispersion amplifier so arranged to selectively extract at least a second fraction of the angularly dispersed channels by amplifying angular dispersion. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25)
-
-
26. A demultiplexer for selectively demultiplexing a multi-channel signal, comprising:
-
an angular dispersion generator, operative to receive an input multi-channel signal, and to split the multi-channel signals into a plurality of angularly dispersed channels separated from each other by an angular dispersion; a first angular dispersion amplifier, operative to receive the angularly dispersed channels and to selectively extract a first fraction of the angularly dispersed channels by amplifying the angular dispersion thereof; wherein the first angular dispersion amplifier has an internal reflection interface with a critical angle such that the angularly dispersed channels incident onto the internal reflection interface with an incident angle smaller than the critical angle are partly reflected and partly transmitted, while the angularly dispersed channels incident onto the internal reflection interface with an incident angle larger than the critical angle are totally reflected. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28)
-
-
29. An optical demultiplexer, comprising:
-
an angular dispersion generator, operative to disperse an incident optical signal into a wavelength plurality of channels each being angularly separated from at least one of the others; and an angular dispersion amplifier, operative to receive the dispersed optical signal and amplify an angular separation of at least one of the wavelength channels with respect to at least one other wavelength channel in the angularly dispersed optical signal; wherein the angular dispersion amplifier comprises an internal reflection interface with a critical angle, and wherein the channels which are internally totally reflected have incident angles larger than the critical angle.
-
-
30. An optical demultiplexer, comprising:
-
an angular dispersion generator, operative to disperse an incident optical signal into a wavelength plurality of channels each being angularly separated from at least one of the others; and an angular dispersion amplifier, operative to receive the dispersed optical signal and amplify an angular separation of at least one of the wavelength channels with respect to at least one other wavelength channel in the angularly dispersed optical signal; wherein the angular dispersion amplifier includes a round optical wedge window, which has a wedge with an wedge angle along which propagation direction of an incident signal is variable upon rotation of the wedge.
-
-
31. A demultiplexer for selectively demultiplexing a multi-channel signal, comprising:
-
an angular dispersion generator, operative to receive an input multi-channel signal, and to split the multi-channel signals into a plurality of angularly dispersed channels separated from each other by an angular dispersion; a first angular dispersion amplifier, operative to receive the angularly dispersed channels and to selectively extract a first fraction of the angularly dispersed channels by amplifying the angular dispersion thereof; and at least one second angular amplifier so arranged to further amplify the angular dispersion of the first fraction of the angularly dispersed channels extracted by the first angular dispersion amplifier.
-
-
32. A demultiplexer for selectively demultiplexing a multi-channel signal, comprising:
-
an angular dispersion generator, operative to receive an input multi-channel signal, and to split the multi-channel signals into a plurality of angularly dispersed channels separated from each other by an angular dispersion; a first angular dispersion amplifier, operative to receive the angularly dispersed channels and to selectively extract a first fraction of the angularly dispersed channels by amplifying the angular dispersion thereof; and one second and one third angular dispersion amplifier so arranged to selectively extract a second fraction of the angularly dispersed channel and to further amplify the angular dispersion of the first fraction of the angularly dispersed channels extracted by the first angular dispersion amplifier, respectively.
-
Specification