Modular add/drop multiplexer including a wavelength selective switch
First Claim
1. An expandable network element, comprising:
- a wavelength selective switch having a plurality of input ports and a plurality of output ports, each of said plurality of input ports being coupled to a respective one of a plurality of input optical communication paths, wherein one of said input optical communication paths carries a service channel optical signal, and each of said plurality of output ports being coupled to a respective one of a plurality of output optical communication paths;
a plurality of first optical splitters, each of said plurality of optical splitters being coupled to a respective one of said plurality of input optical communication paths;
a second optical splitter having an input coupled to one of said first optical splitters, a first output and a second output;
a multi-cast optical switch having a plurality of inputs and a plurality of outputs, one of said plurality of inputs of said multi-cast optical switch being coupled to said first output of said second optical splitters, said second output being a supplemental output not coupled to said multi-cast optical switch;
a tunable demultiplexer coupled to one of said plurality of outputs of said multi-cast optical switch; and
a control circuit, said control circuit being configured to control said tunable demultiplexer in accordance with information associated with said service channel optical signal.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Consistent with the present invention, tunable demultiplexers are provided in WSS-based add/drop multiplexer. The tunable demultiplexers are modular and thus allow the add/drop multiplexer to be readily expandable, and facilitate flexible add/drop capabilities whereby a channel present on any input line to the WSS can be dropped and supplied to one or more desired outputs of the tunable demultiplexer. Similar flexibility can be achieved on the add-side of the WSS. Moreover, the demultiplexers and the WSS are remotely configurable, thus obviating the need to manually disconnect and connect demultiplexers to a router. In a particular embodiment, multicast switches are provided that permit the same channel, for example, to be provided to one or more outputs of the add/drop multiplexer, such that copy of the channel can carry working traffic while the other copy carries protection traffic. As a result, 1+1 and 1:N optical layer protection can be achieved.
7 Citations
5 Claims
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1. An expandable network element, comprising:
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a wavelength selective switch having a plurality of input ports and a plurality of output ports, each of said plurality of input ports being coupled to a respective one of a plurality of input optical communication paths, wherein one of said input optical communication paths carries a service channel optical signal, and each of said plurality of output ports being coupled to a respective one of a plurality of output optical communication paths; a plurality of first optical splitters, each of said plurality of optical splitters being coupled to a respective one of said plurality of input optical communication paths; a second optical splitter having an input coupled to one of said first optical splitters, a first output and a second output; a multi-cast optical switch having a plurality of inputs and a plurality of outputs, one of said plurality of inputs of said multi-cast optical switch being coupled to said first output of said second optical splitters, said second output being a supplemental output not coupled to said multi-cast optical switch; a tunable demultiplexer coupled to one of said plurality of outputs of said multi-cast optical switch; and a control circuit, said control circuit being configured to control said tunable demultiplexer in accordance with information associated with said service channel optical signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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Specification