Infinera Patent Applications

METHOD OF ADJUSTING A CENTER WAVELENGTH OF MODULATED SOURCES WAVELENGTH GRID WITH THE PASSBAND OF AN OPTICAL COMBINER

Granted: June 22, 2006
Application Number: 20060133717
Disclosed is a method of adjusting a center channel wavelength of a group of channel wavelengths from of a plurality of modulated sources, integrated in a photonic integrated circuit (PIC), relative to the center of a wavelength passband of an optical combiner, such as an arrayed waveguide array (AWG), also integrated in the photonic integrated circuit (PIC) and optically coupled to outputs from the modulated sources.

Deployment of electro-optic amplitude varying elements (AVEs) and electro-optic multi-functional elements (MFEs) in photonic integrated circuits (PICs)

Granted: May 4, 2006
Application Number: 20060093362
Electro-optic amplitude varying elements (AVEs) or electro-optic multi-function elements (MFEs) are integrated into signal channels of photonic integrated circuits (PICs) or at the output of such PICs to provide for various optical controlling and monitoring functions. In one case, such PIC signal channels may minimally include a laser source and a modulator (TxPIC) and in another case, may minimally include a photodetector to which channels, in either case, an AVE or an MFE may be…

Photonic integrated circuit (PIC) transceivers for an optical line terminal (OLT) and an optical network unit (ONU) in passive optical networks (PONs)

Granted: May 4, 2006
Application Number: 20060093369
A photonic integrated circuit (PIC) for a PON transceiver comprises a single monolithic chip having a modulated transmitter laser diode of a first wavelength, ?1, for generating a first communication signal outgoing from the chip via an input/output port and a receiving photodetector for receiving a second communication signal of a second wavelength, ?2, onto chip incoming from the input/output port and a monitoring photodetector for receiving a portion of the first communication signal…

Thermally-floating transmitter wavelength grid of signal channels in a WDM transmission system

Granted: April 27, 2006
Application Number: 20060088319
A method and apparatus is provided for tracking a thermally floating wavelength signal channel grid generated at an optical transmitter (Tx) in an optical transmission system or optical network where the wavelengths of the individual Tx signal channels may move in wavelength due to, for example, changes in ambient temperature at the optical transmitter but the channel spacing between Tx signal channels along the thermally floating Tx wavelength grid remains constant. An optical receiver…

Optical transport network

Granted: March 30, 2006
Application Number: 20060067619
An optical transport network comprises a monolithic transmitter photonic integrated circuit (TxPIC) InP-based chip and a monolithic receiver photonic integrated circuit (RxPIC) InP-based chip.

Monolithic photonic integrated circuit (PIC) chip and a method tuning optical components integrated in a monolithic photonic integrated circuit (PIC)

Granted: March 23, 2006
Application Number: 20060062519
An optical transmitter comprises a monolithic transmitter photonic integrated circuit (TxPIC) chip that includes an array of modulated sources formed on the PIC chip and having different operating wavelengths approximating a standardized wavelength grid and providing signal outputs of different wavelengths. A wavelength selective combiner is formed on the PIC chip having a wavelength grid passband response approximating the wavelength grid of the standardized wavelength grid. The signal…

Benzocyclobutene polymer (BCB) as a passivation layer for optical passive elements

Granted: February 9, 2006
Application Number: 20060029324
An InP-based photonic integrated circuit (PIC) includes an optical passive element in the circuit with no bias current applied to such an element. A passivation cladding layer overlies a surface of the optical passive element where the passivation layer comprises benzocyclobutene polymer or BCB.

Method of in-wafer testing of monolithic photonic integrated circuits (PICs) formed in a semiconductor wafer

Granted: February 2, 2006
Application Number: 20060023992
A method of in-wafer testing is provided for a monolithic photonic integrated circuit (PIC) formed in a semiconductor wafer where each such in-wafer circuit comprises two or more integrated electro-optic components, one of each in tandem forming a signal channel in the circuit. The method includes the provision of a first integrated photodetector at a rear end of each signal channel and a second integrated photodetector at forward end of each signal channel. Then, the testing is…

Pattern-dependent error counts for use in correcting operational parameters in an optical receiver

Granted: January 12, 2006
Application Number: 20060008279
An optical transmission network includes an optical transmitter photonic integrated circuit (TxPIC) chip, utilized in an optical transmitter and has a plurality of monolithic modulated sources integrated for multiple signal channels on the same semiconductor chip is provided with channel equalization at the optical receiver side of the network that permits one or more such integrated modulated sources in the TxPIC chip to be out of specification thereby increasing the chip yield and…

Optical transmitter

Granted: December 29, 2005
Application Number: 20050286909
An optical transmitter comprises a monolithic transmitter photonic integrated circuit (TxPIC) chip that includes an array of modulated sources formed on the PIC chip and having different operating wavelengths approximating a standardized wavelength grid and providing signal outputs of different wavelengths. A wavelength selective combiner is formed on the PIC chip having a wavelength grid passband response approximating the wavelength grid of the standardized wavelength grid. The signal…

Universal digital framer architecture for transport of client signals of any client payload and format type

Granted: December 29, 2005
Application Number: 20050286521
Client signals to be transported in a transmission network, particularly an optical transmission network, may have different payload envelope rates and are digitally mapped on the client egress side into first transport frames (also referred to as iDTF frames, or intra-node or internal digital transport frames), at the client side for intra-transport within terminal network elements (NEs) and further digitally mapped into second transport frames (also referred to as DTFs or digital…

FEC enhanced system for an optical communication network

Granted: December 15, 2005
Application Number: 20050276613
A FEC enhanced system for an optical transport or communication network that includes an optical transmitter that has a transmitter photonic integrated circuit (TxPIC) chip having an integrated circuit comprising an array of modulated sources providing a plurality of optical modulated channel signals comprising digital bit data streams where each signal is at a wavelength on a wavelength grid. The modulated channel signal outputs from the modulated sources are provided to an integrated…

Coolerless photonic integrated circuits (PICs) for WDM transmission networks and PICs operable with a floating signal channel grid changing with temperature but with fixed channel spacing in the floating grid

Granted: November 10, 2005
Application Number: 20050249509
A coolerless photonic integrated circuit (PIC), such as a semiconductor electro-absorption modulator/laser (EML) or a coolerless optical transmitter photonic integrated circuit (TxPIC), may be operated over a wide temperature range at temperatures higher then room temperature without the need for ambient cooling or hermetic packaging. Since there is large scale integration of N optical transmission signal WDM channels on a TxPIC chip, a new DWDM system approach with novel sensing schemes…

Method of optimizing optical channel signal demultiplexing in a monolithic receiver photonic integrated circuit (RxPIC)

Granted: September 29, 2005
Application Number: 20050213883
A method is disclosed for optimizing optical channel signal demultiplexing in a monolithic receiver photonic integrated circuit (RXPIC) chip by providing an integrated channel signal demultiplexing with multiple waveguide input verniers provided to an WDM signal demultiplexer. The RxPIC chip may optionally include an integrated amplifier in at least some of the waveguide input verniers. The RxPIC chip may be comprised of, in monolithic form, a plurality of optional semiconductor optical…

Compact, cost-effective optical-electrical-optical (OEO) converter for an optical transmission network

Granted: September 22, 2005
Application Number: 20050207696
An optical-to-electrical-to-optical converter comprises a monolithic receiver photonic integrated circuit (RxPIC) InP-based chip comprising an optical waveguide formed in the chip from a chip input to receive a first multiplexed channel signal from an optical link and provide them to an arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) which demultiplexes the multiplexed channel signals and provides a plurality of electrical channel signals to an electronic regenerator. The regenerator regenerates the…

Optical transport network

Granted: September 15, 2005
Application Number: 20050201669
An optical transport network comprises a monolithic transmitter photonic integrated circuit (TxPIC) InP-based chip and a monolithic receiver photonic integrated circuit (RxPIC) InP-based chip.

Optical communication module having at least one monolithic semiconductor photonic integrated circuit chip

Granted: August 4, 2005
Application Number: 20050169640
An optical communication module comprises at least one monolithic semiconductor transmitter photonic integrated circuit chip having a plurality of optical signal channels approximating wavelengths on a standardized grid. Each of said channels comprises a laser source optically coupled to an electro-optic modulator. The outputs of the electro-optic modulators are coupled to inputs of an integrated optical combiner for combining the inputs to form a combined signal output from the chip. A…

Oxygen-doped al-containing current blocking layers in active semiconductor devices in photonic integrated circuits (PICs)

Granted: July 14, 2005
Application Number: 20050151144
In photonic integrated circuits (PICs) having at least one active semiconductor device, such as, a buried heterostructure semiconductor laser, LED, modulator, photodiode, heterojunction bipolar transistor, field effect transistor or other active device, a plurality of semiconductor layers are formed on a substrate with one of the layers being an active region. A current channel is formed through this active region defined by current blocking layers formed on adjacent sides of a…

Oxygen-doped al-containing current blocking layers in active semiconductor devices in photonic integrated circuits (PICs)

Granted: July 7, 2005
Application Number: 20050145863
In photonic integrated circuits (PICs) having at least one active semiconductor device, such as, a buried heterostructure semiconductor laser, LED, modulator, photodiode, heterojunction bipolar transistor, field effect transistor or other active device, a plurality of semiconductor layers are formed on a substrate with one of the layers being an active region. A current channel is formed through this active region defined by current blocking layers formed on adjacent sides of a…

Method of monitoring and controlling the bit error rate (BER) in an optical communication network

Granted: June 23, 2005
Application Number: 20050135730
A method is disclosed for monitoring and controlling the bit error rate (BER) in an optical communication network where an optical receiver in the optical transmission network is a monolithic photonic integrated circuit (RxPIC) chip. The method includes the steps of decombining on-chip a combined channel signal received from the network and then monitoring a real time bit error rate (BER) of a decombined channel signal. The determined BER is then communicated, such as through an optical…