Dynamic temporal duration optical transmission privacy

• US 7,903,973 B1
• Filed: 12/23/2005
• Issued: 03/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lockheed Martin Corporation (Martin Marietta Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Lockheed Martin Corporation (Martin Marietta Corporation)
• Inventors: Schantz, Howard J., Uhlhorn, Brian L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Vanderpuye; Ken N
• Assistant Examiner(s): WOLDEKIDAN, HIBRET ASNAKE
• Application Number:
  US11/317,135
• Time in Patent Office: 1,901 Days
• Field of Search: 398/77, 398/78, 398/72, 398/99, 398/75, 398/76, 398/98
• US Class Current: 398/77
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 14/005 Optical Code Multiplex

Abstract

Systems and methods are presented herein to achieve data privacy in the optical realm such that electronic encryption bottlenecks are removed, potentially increasing data transmission speeds to the limit of fiber optic media. In this regard, privatizing an optical data transmission may include dynamically altering a temporal length of data bits in an optical data transmission or dynamically altering a temporal length of data frames in an optical data transmission. For example, in a two-dimensional OCDMA signal, the temporal length of data bits may be altered by changing the number of time chips on a per bit basis (e.g., using OCDMA signatures having different temporal lengths). In an optical data bit scrambling signal, the temporal length of data frames may be altered by changing the number of time slices on a per data frame basis.

Claims

1. A method of privatizing an optical data transmission, comprising the steps of:

selecting an OCDMA signature;

converting a single data bit into an optical signal based upon said OCDMA signature from said selecting step;

transmitting said optical signal from said converting step; and

repeating said selecting, converting, and transmitting steps a plurality of times, wherein a temporal length of said OCDMA signature is of a different magnitude for at least two executions of said converting step, wherein during said repeating said selecting, converting, and transmitting steps a plurality of times, said temporal length of said OCDMA signature is varied in a predetermined sequence.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of configuring said optical signal with a plurality of optical wavelengths.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said optical data transmission is a two-dimensional OCDMA signal.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said selecting step comprises the step of selecting said OCDMA signature from a plurality of OCDMA signatures.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of electronically retrieving said single data bit from storage.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said temporal length of said OCDMA signature for an execution of said selecting step is different than said temporal length of said OCDMA signature from an immediately previous-in-time execution of said selecting step.

7. A method of privatizing an optical data transmission, comprising the steps of:

selecting an OCDMA signature;

converting a single data bit into an optical signal based upon said OCDMA signature from said selecting step;

transmitting said optical signal from said converting step; and

repeating said selecting, converting, and transmitting steps a plurality of times, wherein a temporal length of said OCDMA signature is of a different magnitude for at least two executions of said converting step, wherein said temporal length of said OCDMA signature for each execution of said selecting step is different than said temporal length of said OCDMA signature from an immediately previous-in-time execution of said selecting step.

8. A method of privatizing an optical data transmission, comprising the steps of:

generating a plurality of unique scramble patterns and a frame temporal length for a data frame;

assigning a plurality of data bits to a plurality of elements within said data frame based upon said plurality of unique scramble patterns;

transmitting said data frame after said assigning step; and

repeating said generating, assigning, and transmitting steps a plurality of times, wherein at least one execution of said generating step uses different said frame temporal length than another execution of said generating step.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of configuring said optical data transmission with a plurality of optical wavelengths.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein said optical data transmission is an optical data bit scrambling signal.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein each said data frame comprises a plurality of time slices, wherein said step of generating both a scramble pattern and a frame temporal length for a data frame comprises the step of establishing a substantially constant time slice duration for each said data frame.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein each execution of said generating step uses a different said frame temporal length than an immediately previous-in-time execution of said generating step.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein said plurality of elements are in a two-dimensional array of time versus wavelength, wherein each said element is of the same temporal length, and wherein each said generating step comprises changing a number of said elements from an immediately previous-in-time execution of said generating step.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein for each performance of said assigning step, said plurality of data bits constitute an entirety of data bits of said optical data transmission, wherein at least one execution of said generating step uses a different said frame temporal length than an immediately previous-in-time execution of said generating step.

15. A method of privatizing an optical data transmission, comprising the steps of:

generating both a scramble pattern and a frame temporal length for a data frame;

assigning at least one data bit to at least one element within said data frame based upon said scramble pattern;

transmitting said data frame after said assigning step; and

repeating said generating, assigning, and transmitting steps a plurality of times, wherein at least one execution of said generating step uses a different said scramble pattern and a different said frame temporal length than another execution of said generating step, wherein said data frame comprises a plurality of time chips, wherein each said time chip comprises a plurality of wavelength slots, wherein each said time chip is of a common temporal length, and wherein an execution of said generating step uses a different number of said time chips than an immediately previous-in-time execution of said generating step.

16. A method of privatizing an optical data transmission comprising a plurality of optical data segments, said method comprising the steps of:

establishing a temporal length of an optical data segment;

embedding data in said optical data segment after said establishing step;

transmitting said optical data segment after said embedding step; and

repeating said establishing, embedding, and transmitting steps a plurality of times, wherein said repeating step comprises privatizing said optical data transmission by varying a magnitude of said temporal length of at least two said optical data segments in said optical data transmission, wherein said temporal length of said optical data segment for an execution of said embedding step is different than said temporal length of said optical data segment from an immediately previous-in-time execution of said embedding step.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein each said optical data segment in said optical data transmission has a different said temporal length than each adjacent said optical data segment in said optical data transmission.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein each execution of said embedding step comprises embedding a single data bit in said optical data segment.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein each execution of said embedding step comprises embedding multiple data bits in said optical data segment.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein each execution of said embedding step embeds a common number of data bits in said optical data segment.

21. The method of claim 16, wherein said optical data segment comprises a plurality of elements in a two-dimensional array of time versus wavelength, wherein each said element is of the same said temporal length.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising the step of varying a dispersion pattern of said data within said plurality of elements of said optical data segment for at least two executions of said embedding step.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein a number of said elements in said optical data segment for each execution of said embedding step is different than a number of said elements in said optical data segment from an immediately previous-in-time execution of said embedding step, and wherein a dispersion pattern of said data within said plurality of elements of said optical data segment for each execution of said embedding step is different than a dispersion pattern of said data within said plurality of elements of said optical data segment from an immediately previous-in-time execution of said embedding step.

24. The method of claim 16, wherein said establishing step comprises the step of selecting an OCDMA signature from a plurality of OCDMA signatures.

25. The method of claim 16, further comprising the step of controlling said establishing step with an algorithm and controlling said embedding step with an algorithm.

26. A method of privatizing an optical data transmission comprising a plurality of optical data segments, said method comprising the steps of:

establishing a temporal length of an optical data segment;

embedding data in said optical data segment after said establishing step;

transmitting said optical data segment after said embedding step; and

repeating said establishing, embedding, and transmitting steps a plurality of times, wherein said temporal length of at least two said optical data segments in said optical data transmission are of different magnitudes, wherein said optical data segment comprises a plurality of time chips, wherein each said time chip comprises a plurality of wavelength slots, wherein each said time chip is of a common temporal length, and wherein said optical data segment for an execution of said embedding step uses a different number of said time chips than said optical data segment from an immediately previous-in-time execution of said embedding step.