Optical time delay apparatus incorporating diffractive element sets
First Claim
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1. An apparatus, comprising:
- a first optical waveguide substantially confining in one transverse dimension an optical signal propagating in two dimensions therein, the first optical waveguide having a first set of diffractive elements configured and positioned for routing at least a portion of an optical signal propagating in the optical waveguide between an input optical port and a switch input optical port;
an optical source positioned for launching an optical signal into the optical waveguide through the input optical port;
a 1×
N optical switch connecting the switch input optical port to any one of N switch output optical ports based on a selected operational state of the 1×
N optical switch; and
a second optical waveguide substantially confining in one transverse dimension an optical signal received from any of the N switch output optical ports and propagating in two dimensions therein, the second optical waveguide having N additional sets of diffractive elements, each set of the N additional sets of diffractive elements corresponding to one of the N switch output optical ports and being configured and positioned for routing at least a portion of an optical signal received from the corresponding one of the N switch output optical ports to an output optical port,wherein;
the first diffractive element set is adapted for imparting a wavelength-dependent optical delay onto the routed portion of the optical signal;
the N additional diffractive element sets and the output optical port are positioned relative to the switch output optical ports so that each corresponding optical pathlength between each of the switch output optical ports and the output optical port varies among the switch output optical ports;
an optical signal at only a selected one of multiple optical source wavelengths reaches the output optical port based on a selected operational state of the optical source; and
optical propagation time delay between the input optical port and the corresponding output optical port varies according to the selected operational state of the 1×
N optical switch and according to the selected operational state of the optical source.
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Abstract
An optical time delay apparatus comprises: a multi-wavelength optical source; a diffractive element set imparting a wavelength-dependent delay on signals routed from the source to a 1×N optical switch; and N diffractive element sets routing signals from the 1×N switch to an output port. The optical propagation delay between the source and the output port varies according to the operational state of the source and the 1×N switch. A photodetector may receive the time-delayed signal at the output port.
47 Citations
25 Claims
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1. An apparatus, comprising:
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a first optical waveguide substantially confining in one transverse dimension an optical signal propagating in two dimensions therein, the first optical waveguide having a first set of diffractive elements configured and positioned for routing at least a portion of an optical signal propagating in the optical waveguide between an input optical port and a switch input optical port; an optical source positioned for launching an optical signal into the optical waveguide through the input optical port; a 1×
N optical switch connecting the switch input optical port to any one of N switch output optical ports based on a selected operational state of the 1×
N optical switch; anda second optical waveguide substantially confining in one transverse dimension an optical signal received from any of the N switch output optical ports and propagating in two dimensions therein, the second optical waveguide having N additional sets of diffractive elements, each set of the N additional sets of diffractive elements corresponding to one of the N switch output optical ports and being configured and positioned for routing at least a portion of an optical signal received from the corresponding one of the N switch output optical ports to an output optical port, wherein; the first diffractive element set is adapted for imparting a wavelength-dependent optical delay onto the routed portion of the optical signal; the N additional diffractive element sets and the output optical port are positioned relative to the switch output optical ports so that each corresponding optical pathlength between each of the switch output optical ports and the output optical port varies among the switch output optical ports; an optical signal at only a selected one of multiple optical source wavelengths reaches the output optical port based on a selected operational state of the optical source; and optical propagation time delay between the input optical port and the corresponding output optical port varies according to the selected operational state of the 1×
N optical switch and according to the selected operational state of the optical source. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. An apparatus, comprising:
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a 1×
N optical switch connecting a switch input optical port to any one of N switch output optical ports based on a selected operational state of the 1×
N optical switch; andan optical waveguide substantially confining in one transverse dimension an optical signal received from any of the N switch output optical ports and propagating in two dimensions therein, the optical waveguide having N sets of diffractive elements, each set of diffractive elements corresponding to one of the N switch output optical ports and being configured and positioned for routing at least a portion of an optical signal received from the corresponding one of the N switch output optical ports to an output optical port, wherein the N diffractive element sets and the output optical port are positioned relative to the switch output optical ports so that each corresponding optical pathlength between each of the switch output optical ports and the output optical port varies among the switch output optical ports, thereby resulting in an optical propagation time delay between the switch input optical port and the output optical port that varies according to the selected operational state of the 1×
N optical switch. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
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17. An apparatus, comprising:
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an optical waveguide substantially confining in one transverse dimension an optical signal propagating in two dimensions therein, the optical waveguide having a set of diffractive elements configured and positioned for routing at least a portion of an optical signal propagating in the optical waveguide between an input optical port and an output optical port; and an optical source positioned for launching an optical signal into the optical waveguide through the input optical port, wherein; the diffractive element set is adapted for imparting a wavelength-dependent optical delay onto the routed portion of the optical signal; and an optical signal at only a selected one of multiple optical source wavelengths reaches the output optical port based on a selected operational state of the optical source, thereby resulting in an optical propagation time delay of an optical signal launched from the optical source between the input optical port and the output optical port that varies according to the selected operational state of the optical source. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification