Photonic cross-connect with reconfigurable add-drop-functionality

• US 9,742,519 B2
• Filed: 12/13/2013
• Issued: 08/22/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/18/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Xieon Networks S.A.R.L. (Infinera Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Xieon Networks S.A.R.L. (Infinera Corp.)
• Inventors: Schimpe, Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): Vo, Don N
• Application Number:
  US14/761,775
• Publication Number:
  US 20150365186A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,348 Days
• Field of Search: 398 50
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 14/021 Reconfigurable arrangements, e.g. reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexers [ROADM] or tunable optical add/drop multiplexers [TOADM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 14/0212 using optical switches or wavelength selective switches [WSS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 14/0213 Groups of channels or wave bands arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 11/0005 Switch and router aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2011/0009 using wavelength filters
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2011/0015 using splitting combining
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2011/0016 using wavelength multiplexing or demultiplexing

Abstract

A photonic cross-connect arrangement is presented which is able to cope with the transmission of super-channels, wherein complete super-channels are dropped and added to change a direction of transport. At least a cyclic filter is used in a drop-branch of a cross-connect for dividing a super-channel into sub-channels and/or at least a further cyclic filter is used in an add-branch to configure a super-channel.

Claims

1. A photonic cross-connector comprising a cross-connect section with a receiving part including first distributer components receiving incoming super-channels, each represented by a group of sub-channels, and at least two drop outputs, each for dropping at least one drop super-channel, and comprising a transmitting part including further combiner components receiving express signals from the receiving part and emitting outgoing WDM signals and having at least two add-inputs for adding at least an add super-channels, the cross-connect further

comprising

a division-multiplex section, having inputs that are connected to the at least two drop outputs of the receiving part, with a cyclic filter, each filter input receiving a drop super-channel and outputting sub-channels from said super-channels cyclically shifted at filter outputs such that sub-channels from super-channels having a same frequency band and outputted at a same output have different wavelengths;

a transponder arrangement with receivers, each receiving at least a sub-channel from one of said filter outputs of the cyclic filter, whereat each receiver is tunable for extracting one sub-channel, and with transmitters, each outputting a sub-channel fed to an optical combiner outputting said add super-channels fed to at least two add inputs of said transmitting part of the cross-connect section, whereat each transmitter is tuneable for generating a sub-channel of an add super-channel.

2. A photonic cross-connector according to claim 1, wherein the receiving part of the cross-connect section comprises as distributer component wavelength selecting switches and the transmitting part of the cross-connect section comprises as combiner components further wavelength selecting switches.

3. A photonic cross-connector according to claim 2, comprising

at least two wavelength selecting switches of the receiving part with drop outputs, each arranged for outputting at least one drop super-channel and

at least two of the further wavelength selecting switches of the transmitting part with add inputs, each arranged for receiving at least one add super-channel.

4. A photonic cross-connector according to claim 1, wherein outputs of the receivers and inputs of transmitters are connected via a digital signal converter with client ports.

5. A photonic cross-connector according to claim 1, wherein one add super-channel emitted from the transmitters is fed via a star coupler as optical combiner to add-inputs of the further wavelength selecting switches.

6. A photonic cross-connector according to claim 1, wherein the at least one add super-channel emitted from the transmitters is fed via a further cyclic filter with inverse function as optical combiner to at least two add-inputs of the further wavelength selecting switches.

7. A photonic cross-connector according to claim 6, wherein

the outputs of the cyclic filter are connected via splitters to receiver inputs of an extended transponder arrangements for selecting simultaneously sub-channels of at least two drop super-channels;

and

the transmitter outputs of the extended transponder arrangements are connected via combiners to input ports a further cyclic filter with inverse function as combination element for outputting at least two add super-channels.

8. A photonic cross-connector according to claim 7, wherein

the cyclic filter in the drop path comprises M inputs and N outputs;

the further cyclic filter in the add path comprises N input ports and M output ports;

an enlarged splitter-combiner arrangement comprises N splitters, which inputs are connected to the cyclic filter outputs and which outputs are connected to receiver inputs, and further comprises N combiners, which inputs are connected to transmitter outputs and which output ports are connected to add inputs;

an enlarged transponder arrangement comprises a number of transponders corresponding to the maximum number of simultaneously able to be dropped sub-channels;

whereat M is the number of simultaneously able to be dropped/able to be added super-channels, and N is the number of sub-channels of a super-channel.

9. A photonic cross-connector according to claim 1, wherein

an enlarged splitter-combiner arrangement comprises a plurality of at least M splitters, which inputs are connected to drop outputs and which outputs are connected to inputs of M cyclic filters, and wherein N outputs of the cyclic filters are connected to inputs of the tunable receivers of transponders;

wherein outputs of the tunable transmitters of the transponders are connected to ‘

input’

ports of M further inverse working cyclic filters, which output ports are connected to inputs of at least M combiners, and wherein outputs of the combiners are connected to add-inputs of the transmitting WSSs;

whereat M is the number of add/drop-ably super channels;

N is the number of sub-channels/super-channel.

10. A photonic cross-connector according to claim 1, wherein each cyclic filters has M=4 inputs and N=4 outputs and/or each splitter has 4 outputs and each combiner has 4 inputs.

11. An optical transmission system comprising at least one photonic cross-connector according to claim 1.