Optical processing
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An optical processor for selectively routing optical signals on wavelength channels from at least one input port to at least two output ports, the optical processor comprising:
- a reflective spatial light modulator (“
SLM”
) having a two-dimensional array ofcontrollable elements, wherein the SLM is configured for selection of the controllable elements whereby two-dimensional groups of controllable elements are formed at chosen locations of the SLM to independently and controllably deflect light incident on the two-dimensional groups of controllable elements;
a dispersion device positioned to receive an input beam from each of the at least one input port and disperse light from the input beam;
a focusing device disposed between the reflective SLM and the dispersion device to receive the dispersed light from the dispersion device and spatially distribute this dispersed light by wavelength across the SLM and within each of the two-dimensional groups; and
a controller coupled to the reflective SLM for assigning which controllable elements correspond to which group and configurable to select the groups so that each wavelength channel from the at least one input port corresponds to a respective one of the groups and further configurable to select a first set of one or more of the optical signals for routing to a first one of the output ports and to further select a second set of one or more of the optical signals for routing to a second one of the output ports,wherein, during operation, the controller causes the reflective SLM to deflect the first and second sets of one or more of the optical signals incident on the SLM back to the focusing device, wherein the deflections provided by the controllable elements of the groups are selected by the controller so that the focusing device then directs the first and second sets of one or more optical signals to different respective locations on the dispersion device, and wherein the dispersion device combines the wavelength channels from the first set of one or more optical signals into a first output beam and combines the wavelength channels from the second set of one or more optical signals into a second output beam.
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Abstract
A modular routing node includes a single input port and a plurality of output ports. The modular routing node is arranged to produce a plurality of different deflections and uses small adjustments to compensate for wavelength differences and alignment tolerances in an optical system. An optical device is arranged to receive a multiplex of many optical signals at different wavelengths, to separate the optical signals into at least two groups, and to process at least one of the groups adaptively.
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Citations
59 Claims
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1. An optical processor for selectively routing optical signals on wavelength channels from at least one input port to at least two output ports, the optical processor comprising:
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a reflective spatial light modulator (“
SLM”
) having a two-dimensional array ofcontrollable elements, wherein the SLM is configured for selection of the controllable elements whereby two-dimensional groups of controllable elements are formed at chosen locations of the SLM to independently and controllably deflect light incident on the two-dimensional groups of controllable elements; a dispersion device positioned to receive an input beam from each of the at least one input port and disperse light from the input beam; a focusing device disposed between the reflective SLM and the dispersion device to receive the dispersed light from the dispersion device and spatially distribute this dispersed light by wavelength across the SLM and within each of the two-dimensional groups; and a controller coupled to the reflective SLM for assigning which controllable elements correspond to which group and configurable to select the groups so that each wavelength channel from the at least one input port corresponds to a respective one of the groups and further configurable to select a first set of one or more of the optical signals for routing to a first one of the output ports and to further select a second set of one or more of the optical signals for routing to a second one of the output ports, wherein, during operation, the controller causes the reflective SLM to deflect the first and second sets of one or more of the optical signals incident on the SLM back to the focusing device, wherein the deflections provided by the controllable elements of the groups are selected by the controller so that the focusing device then directs the first and second sets of one or more optical signals to different respective locations on the dispersion device, and wherein the dispersion device combines the wavelength channels from the first set of one or more optical signals into a first output beam and combines the wavelength channels from the second set of one or more optical signals into a second output beam. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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44. An optical processor for selectively routing optical signals on wavelength channels from multiple input ports to at least one output port, the optical processor comprising:
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a reflective spatial light modulator (“
SLM”
) having a two-dimensional array of controllable elements, wherein the SLM is configured for selection of the controllable elements whereby two-dimensional groups of controllable elements are formed at chosen locations of the SLM to independently and controllably deflect light incident on the two-dimensional groups of controllable elements;a dispersion device positioned to receive an input beam from each of the multiple input ports and disperse light from the input beams; a focusing device disposed between the reflective SLM and the dispersion device to receive the dispersed light from the dispersion device and spatially distribute this dispersed light by wavelength across the SLM and within each of the two-dimensional groups; and a controller coupled to the reflective SLM for assigning which controllable elements correspond to which group and configurable to select the groups so that each set of optical signals from different input ports on the same wavelength channel corresponds to a respective one of the groups and further configurable to select a first subset of the optical signals for routing to a first one of the at least one output port, wherein the first subset includes optical signals from different input ports, wherein, during operation, the controller causes the reflective SLM to deflect the first subset of optical signals incident on the SLM back to the focusing device, wherein the deflections provided by the controllable elements of the groups are selected by the controller so that the focusing device then directs the first subset of optical signals to a common location on the dispersion device, and wherein the dispersion device combines the wavelength channels from the first subset of optical signals into a first output beam, and wherein the dispersion device, focusing device, and SLM are arranged so that the controller can cause the SLM to independently deflect light incident on the groups so that different wavelength channels from different input beams are combined into a common output beam by the dispersion device upon returning to the dispersion device from the focusing device. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46, 47, 48)
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49. An optical processor for selectively routing optical signals on wavelength channels from one or more input ports to one or more output ports, the optical processor comprising:
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a reflective spatial light modulator (“
SLM”
) having a two-dimensional array of controllable elements, wherein the SLM is configured for selection of the controllable elements whereby two-dimensional groups of controllable elements are formed at chosen locations of the SLM to independently and controllably deflect light incident on the two-dimensional groups of controllable elements;a dispersion device positioned to receive an input beam from each of the one or more input ports and disperse light from the input beam; a focusing device disposed between the reflective SLM and the dispersion device to receive the dispersed light from the dispersion device and spatially distribute this dispersed light by wavelength across the SLM and within each of the two-dimensional groups; and a controller coupled to the reflective SLM for assigning which controllable elements correspond to which group and configurable to select the groups so that each wavelength channel from the one or more input ports corresponds to one of the groups and further configurable to select a first subset of one or more of the optical signals for routing to a first one of the one or more output ports, wherein the two-dimensional array of controllable elements is a two-dimensional array of controllable phase-modulating elements and wherein the controller is configurable to cause the SLM to display multiple holograms on the corresponding groups of controllable elements to independently and controllably deflect light incident on the corresponding groups of controllable elements, and wherein the controller is configurable to adjust a transmission spectrum between optical signals on adjacent wavelength channels. - View Dependent Claims (50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59)
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Specification