Reflection suppression in a photonic integrated circuit
Granted: July 5, 2011
Patent Number:
7974504
Embodiments of the present invention provide systems, devices and methods in which optical reflections are reduced in a photonic integrated circuit. These embodiments include reflection suppression elements which operate to dissipate optical energy that would otherwise provide a source for optical reflections which may impact the operation of one or more devices within the photonic integrated circuit. In particular, within photonic integrated circuits incorporating semiconductor optical…
Coupled optical waveguide resonators with heaters for thermo-optic control of wavelength and compound filter shape
Granted: July 5, 2011
Patent Number:
7973265
An integrated optical device is disclosed comprising a substrate, optical waveguide, and compound optical resonator having a temperature sensor, at least two coupled optical resonators, and a heater localized to each optical resonator. An optical input signal is coupled to one of the resonators making up the compound resonator to form an optical output signal. The center wavelength and shape of the output signal is optimized with a feedback loop using the temperature sensor to control…
Path-level protection for digitally wrapped payloads
Granted: June 28, 2011
Patent Number:
7969868
A node, of a group of nodes, may detect a failure on a first path; establish a connection associated with a second path when the failure on the first path is detected; store an identifier in a field in an overhead portion of a data frame when the failure on the first path is detected, the data frame including a payload portion that contains a client signal, the identifier instructing another one of the nodes to establish a connection associated with the second path; and transmit the data…
Consistency of state model visualization across different standard attributes
Granted: June 28, 2011
Patent Number:
7970114
A system, apparatus and method are described for displaying multiple attributes relative to objects in a network management program. In one embodiment, multiple attributes from a plurality of different standards are coalesced together and the coalesced attributes are displayed by a user interface. These coalesced attributes may be shown in such a manner so that inconsistencies between attributes of objects from different standards are reduced or obviated.
Thermally-floating transmitter wavelength grid of signal channels in a WDM transmission system
Granted: June 28, 2011
Patent Number:
7970280
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…
Hermaphroditic u-guide alignment structures and method thereof
Granted: June 21, 2011
Patent Number:
7965915
An integrated optical waveguide circuit apparatus having an optical processing area, waveguide ports for optical processing, and at least one waveguide structure, the at least one waveguide structure going around the optical processing area. Methods for making the integrated optical waveguide circuit apparatus are also disclosed.
Integrated circuit having a dummy transimpedance amplifier
Granted: June 14, 2011
Patent Number:
7961053
Consistent with the present disclosure, a “dummy” transimpedance amplifier (dummy TIA) is provided on a substrate along with one or more other transimpedance amplifiers (TIAs) that are connected to photodiodes and output voltage signals for further processing. Typically, the dummy TIA is not connected to a photodiode and does not supply a useful output. The dummy TIA, however, is subject to the same processing and temperature variations as the other TIAs, and, as a result, the…
Optical interface assembly
Granted: June 14, 2011
Patent Number:
7961994
An optical device includes a first waveguide having an end portion configured to receive an optical signal, the optical signal having a fundamental mode; a second waveguide having an end portion spaced from the end portion of the first waveguide; and a cladding layer surrounding the first and second waveguides. The first waveguide is configured such that the optical signal undergoes multimode interference to focus the fundamental mode at the end portion of the second waveguide.
Coupled optical waveguide resonators with heaters for thermo-optic control of wavelength and compound filter shape
Granted: March 8, 2011
Patent Number:
7903910
An integrated optical device is disclosed comprising a substrate, optical waveguide, and compound optical resonator having a temperature sensor, at least two coupled optical resonators, and a heater localized to each optical resonator. An optical input signal is coupled to one of the resonators making up the compound resonator to form an optical output signal. The center wavelength and shape of the output signal is optimized with a feedback loop using the temperature sensor to control…
Low loss lateral optical waveguide intersections
Granted: March 1, 2011
Patent Number:
7899280
A geometrically shaped optical waveguide crossing with minimal transmission loss is described. A symmetrically tapered waveguide intersection is used to minimize loss in the intersecting region where at least two optical waveguides cross one another. The present invention embodies a waveguide crossing that includes tapering the width of the waveguides as they approach the intersecting region, forcing the field of light to contract, reducing asymmetric field distortions, and thus reducing…
GMPLS fast re-route for OADM and AUX 10Mbps support
Granted: February 15, 2011
Patent Number:
7889642
Embodiments of the present invention provide a GMPLS fast re-route of packets within a network using a multicast address and a table comprising a list of alias IP addresses. According to various embodiments of the invention an alternate data path from a source node to a destination node allows a packet to traverse to the destination node without IP forwarding techniques being applied. In other words, a tunneling effect from a source node to a destination node allows other nodes in the…
Transmitter photonic integrated circuit (TxPIC) chips
Granted: February 8, 2011
Patent Number:
7885492
A photonic integrated circuit (PIC) chip comprising an array of modulated sources, each providing a modulated signal output at a channel wavelength different from the channel wavelength of other modulated sources and a wavelength selective combiner having an input optically coupled to received all the signal outputs from the modulated sources and provide a combined output signal on an output waveguide from the chip. The modulated sources, combiner and output waveguide are all integrated…
Optical autodiscovery for automated logical and physical connectivity check between optical modules
Granted: February 1, 2011
Patent Number:
7881612
Optical autodiscovery is provide between two optical modules to insure that when an optical signal is coupled between the two optical module, the optical signal from a first module does not interfere with operation of a second module. The autodiscovery is implemented by sending an optical identification signal from the first optical module via the coupling to the second optical module from which signal, the second optical module can verify and determined acceptance of the coupled first…
Photonic integrated circuit (PIC) transceivers for an optical line terminal (OLT) and an optical network unit (ONU) in passive optical networks (PONs)
Granted: January 25, 2011
Patent Number:
7877016
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…
Recovery of client clock without jitter
Granted: January 18, 2011
Patent Number:
7873133
The present invention provides a system, apparatus and method for recovering a client signal clock. The present invention is able to more effectively remove jitter within a clock signal by providing a phase shifting element in the feedback of a PLL system to compensate for sudden changes in an input reference clock. The PLL system provides flexible clock recovery so that it can accommodate various payload types because it extracts a client clock signal independent of a corresponding…
Optical modulator drive circuit with integrated low power output bias voltage control
Granted: December 7, 2010
Patent Number:
7848369
A modulator drive circuit provides a modulator drive signal to modulate an optical signal for transport across a network infrastructure. The modulator drive circuit powered by an adjustable voltage source, such that the modulator drive signal is generated from a data signal and the adjustable voltage source, an AC component of the modulator drive signal being derived from the data signal while a DC component of the modulator drive signal being derived from the adjustable voltage source.…
Performance compensated Tx/Rx optical devices
Granted: November 23, 2010
Patent Number:
7840103
A wavelength division multiplexing system has a wavelength division multiplexer and a wavelength division demultiplexer. The wavelength division demultiplexer is in series with the wavelength division multiplexer to process at least one optical signal to generate at least one processed optical signal. The wavelength division multiplexer and the wavelength division demultiplexer cooperate to introduce substantially zero total chromatic dispersion in the processed optical signal. In one…
Fiber optic ferrule
Granted: September 28, 2010
Patent Number:
7802924
Consistent with the present disclosure, a ferrule is provided that includes first and second channels, for example. Multiple fibers of a ribbon cable, for example, are divided into groups and fed into corresponding channels of the ferrule. Since multiple channels are provided, however, each channel can be made relatively narrow. Thus, by providing smaller channel widths, the fibers in those channels experience less thermal stress. Moreover, the channels are spaced from one another so…
Receiver photonic integrated circuit (RxPIC) chip utilizing compact wavelength selective decombiners
Granted: September 21, 2010
Patent Number:
7801402
A monolithic receiver photonic integrated circuit (RxPIC) chip includes a plurality of optical signal channels together with other active elements integrated on a semiconductor chip, which chips further include a wavelength selective decombiner comprising a supergrating or an Echelle grating which provides for a more compact chip compared to an integrated on-chip arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) functioning as a wavelength selective decombiner.
Wavelength division multiplexed optical communication system with rapidly-tunable optical filters
Granted: September 21, 2010
Patent Number:
7801446
The present invention provides a WDM optical system that includes a tunable filter for selecting one or more optical channels from a WDM optical signal. A portion of a WDM signal enters a first optical filter stage that exhibits a periodic transmission spectrum and possesses individually tunable filter elements. A second optical filter stage receives throughput from the first filter stage and has a periodic transmission spectrum and individually tunable filter elements. A controller…
