Optical cross-connect switch with integrated optical signal tap

• US 6,668,108 B1
• Filed: 06/02/2000
• Issued: 12/23/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/02/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Calient Networks Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Calient Networks Incorporated
• Inventors: Helkey, Roger, Walter, Tony, Welsh, David, Yamada, Kevin, Bowers, John
• Primary Examiner(s): Ullah, Akm Enayet
• Assistant Examiner(s): Rahll, Jerry T
• Application Number:
  US09/585,991
• Time in Patent Office: 1,299 Days
• Field of Search: 385/17-18, 385/42, 385/48
• US Class Current: 385/18
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/3518 the reflective optical element being an intrinsic part of a MEMS device, i.e. fabricated together with the MEMS device MEMS devices in general B81B; manufacture of MEM devices in general B81C; micromechanical devices controlling the direction of light G02B26/0833
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/3556 NxM switch, i.e. regular arrays of switches elements of matrix type constellation
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/357 Electrostatic force electrostatic forces controlling reflecting elements in general G02B26/0841
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/359 of the position of the moving element itself during switching, i.e. without monitoring the switched beams
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 11/0005 Switch and router aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2011/0024 using space switching
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2011/0026 using free space propagation (e.g. lenses, mirrors)
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2011/0043 Fault tolerance
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2011/0083 Testing; Monitoring

Abstract

An optical cross-connect with integrated optical signal tap is disclosed. In one embodiment, the switch includes two or more optical fiber input ports, lenses to produce collimated beams, one or more optical taps to couple a portion of the optical power from one or more input ports to one or more sample ports, movable mirrors to connect any input port with any output port, two or more optical fiber output ports, and lens to couple collimated beams into the output ports.

Claims

1. An optical switch, comprising:

plurality of optical fiber input ports to input light beams into the switch;

sample port;

an optical tap to generate a sample portion of one of the light beams;

movable sample mirrors to optically connect the optical tap to the sample port, wherein the optical tap, the sample mirrors, and the sample port comprise a single optical structure;

movable switch mirrors to optically connect one of the input ports with one of the output ports; and

plurality of optical fiber output ports to output the light beams from the switch.

2. The switch of claim 1 wherein the number of sample ports is less than the number of input ports.

3. The switch of claim 1 wherein said sample port directs sample portion of the optical power to a camera.

4. The switch of claim 1 further comprising a lens array, said lens array including lenses to collimate the light beams from the input port and a sample lens to collimate the sample portion into the sample port.

5. The switch of claim 1 wherein said plurality of optical fiber input ports and said sample port is located in a single input and sample fiber array block.

6. The switch of claim 1 wherein optical tap directs the sample portion to a movable array of sample mirrors, said sample mirrors direct the sample portion to one or more photodetectors.

7. An optical switch, comprising:

plurality of optical fiber input ports to input light beams into the switch;

at least one sample port;

an optical tap to generate a sample portion of one of the light beams;

movable sample mirrors to optically connect the optical tap to the at least one sample port;

movable switch mirrors to optically connect one of the input ports with one of the output ports; and

plurality of optical fiber output ports to output the light beams from the switch, wherein each input light beam has a corresponding optical sample port output.

8. The switch of claim 7 wherein the optical tap directs the sample portion to a movable array of sample mirrors, said sample mirrors direct the sample portion to optical fibers in said sample ports.

9. An optical switch, comprising:

plurality of optical fiber input ports to input light beams into the switch;

a sample port;

an optical tap to generate a sample portion of one of the light beams;

movable sample mirrors to optically connect the optical tap to the sample port;

movable switch mirrors to optically connect one of the input ports with one of the output ports; and

a plurality of optical fiber output ports to output the light beams from the switch, wherein the sample port comprises a spatial light modulator that selects a sample portion corresponding to a single light beam, and a fixed lens directs the selected sampled portion to a multimode fiber.

10. An optical switch, comprising:

plurality of optical fiber input ports to input light beams into the switch;

sample port;

an optical tap to generate a sample portion of one of the light beams;

movable sample mirrors to optically connect the optical tap to the sample port;

movable switch mirrors to optically connect one of the input ports with one of the output ports; and

a plurality of optical fiber output ports to output the light beams from the switch, wherein a single substrate contains the switch mirrors and the sample mirrors for the sample port.

11. An optical switch, comprising:

plurality of optical fiber input ports to input light beams into the switch;

sample port;

an optical tap to generate a sample portion of one of the light beams;

movable sample mirrors to optically connect the optical tap to the sample port;

movable switch mirrors to optically connect one of the input ports with one of the output ports; and

plurality of optical fiber output ports to output the light beams from the switch, wherein the sample port comprises a spatial light modulator that selects a sample portion corresponding to a single light beam, and a fixed lens directs the selected sample portion to a photodetector.

12. An optical switch comprising:

light input means for inputting light beams into the switch;

at least one sample port;

optical tap means for generating a sample portion of the light beams;

movable sample mirror means for optically connecting the tap to the sample ports;

movable switch mirror means for optically connecting one of the input ports with one of the output ports; and

light output means for outputting the light beams from the switch, wherein the optical tap means, the sample mirror means, and the sample port comprise a single optical structure.

13. The switch of claim 12 further comprising a lens array, said lens array including lenses to collimate the light beams from the input means and sample lenses to collimate the sample portion into the sample ports.

14. A method comprising:

inputting a plurality of light beams into an optical switch;

generating a sample portion of each of the plurality of light beams and an output portion of each of the plurality of light beams using an optical tap common to the plurality of light beams;

optically directing the sample portion to a sample port; and

optically switching the output portion to an output port.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein generating further comprises generating the sample portion of a respective light beam based on a percentage of power of the respective light beam.

16. An optical switch, comprising:

a plurality of optical fiber input ports to receive a respective plurality of light beams into the optical switch;

at least one sample port;

a single optical tap to receive the plurality of light beams and generate a sample portion of each of the plurality of light beams;

a plurality of sample lenses to optically couple the single optical tap to the plurality of sample ports;

a plurality of optical fiber output ports to output the light beams from the optical switch; and

a first plurality of movable mirrors to optically connect one of the input ports with one of the output ports.

17. The optical switch of claim 16, further comprising an array of movable tap mirrors, wherein the array of movable tap mirrors is integrated on a same substrate as the plurality of movable mirrors.

18. The optical switch of claim 16, further comprising:

a spatial light modulator coupled to receive the sample portions from the optical tap and attenuate the sample portions except for a desired sample portion;

a photodetector; and

a fixed lens to receive the desired sample portion and focus the desired sample portion to the photodetector.

19. The optical switch of claim 16, wherein the sample output port comprises:

a spatial light modulator configured to select a sample portion corresponding to a desired light beam; and

a fixed lens optically coupled to the spatial light modulator to receive the selected sample portion and direct the selected sampled portion to a fiber.

20. The optical switch of claim 16, wherein the sample port comprises a movable fiber collimator to couple the sample portion to an optical fiber.

21. The optical switch of claim 16, wherein the sample portion of each of the plurality of light beams is based on a percentage of power of a respective light beam.

22. The optical switch of claim 16, wherein the optical tap, the plurality of sample lenses, and the sample port comprise a single optical structure.

23. The optical switch of claim 16, further comprising a camera, wherein each of the plurality of sample ports is configured to direct a respective sample portion of the light beams to the camera.

24. The optical switch of claim 16, further comprising:

an input lens array to collimate the plurality of light beams from the input ports;

an output lens array to focus the plurality of light beams to the output ports; and

a second plurality of movable mirrors disposed between the input lens array and the output lens array, and wherein the first plurality of movable mirrors is disposed between the input lens array and the output lens array.

25. The optical switch of claim 24, wherein the optical tap is disposed between the input lens array and the first and second plurality of movable mirrors.

26. The optical switch of claim 24, wherein the optical tap is disposed between the output lens array and the first and second plurality of movable mirrors.

27. The optical switch of claim 16, wherein the plurality of input ports and the at least one sample ports are located in single array block.

28. The optical switch of claim 16, wherein each input light beam has a corresponding sample port.

29. The optical switch of claim 16, wherein the number of sample ports is less than the number of input ports.

30. The optical switch of claim 16, further comprising an array of movable tap mirrors, wherein the optical tap directs the sample portions to the array of movable tap mirrors.

31. The optical switch of claim 30, further comprising an array of movable sample mirrors, wherein the array of movable sample mirrors directs the light beams received from the array of movable tap mirrors to the at least one sample port.

32. The optical switch of claim 30, wherein the array of movable tap mirrors direct the sample portions to one or more photodetectors.

33. The optical switch of claim 16, further comprising a single movable tap mirror, wherein the optical tap directs the sample portions to the single movable tap mirror.