US 10,833,791 B1 · Reducing interference from channel holders in an optical link

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for reducing interference when optical signals are added. One embodiment includes a method for adding an optical channel for communicating data and having a bandwidth within an optical spectrum for transmission along an optical link of an optical network. The method includes creating a lower frequency holding zone having a lower frequency bandwidth adjacent to the bandwidth of the added optical channel and including at least one lower frequency sub-slice having a power spectral density that varies throughout the lower frequency sub-slice. Also, the method includes creating a higher frequency holding zone having a higher frequency bandwidth adjacent to the bandwidth of the added optical channel and including at least one higher frequency sub-slice having a power spectral density that varies throughout the higher frequency sub-slice. The lower frequency holding zone and the higher frequency holding zone are dynamically configured with respect to fiber and channel requirements.

Claims20

Dependent claims

An Optical Add/Drop Multiplexer (OADM) of an optical communication system, the OADM comprising:

an Amplified Spontaneous Emission (ASE) generator and a multiplexer unit, wherein the multiplexer unit is configured to provide an added channel and a channel holder from the ASE generator on an optical link;
and
a controller configured to
detect characteristics of the added channel on the optical link;
and
cause injection of the channel holder within unused bandwidth adjacent to the added channel for transmission along with the added channel on the optical link, wherein the unused bandwidth includes a holding zone located adjacent to the added channel, and wherein a shape of power spectral density of the channel holder is varied in the holding zone and left unchanged outside the holding zone.

3 more elements

A method comprising the steps of:

adding an optical channel having a bandwidth within an optical spectrum for transmission along an optical link of an optical network;
adding a first channel holder and a second channel holder within unused bandwidth on the optical link;
creating a lower frequency holding zone for the first channel holder having a lower frequency bandwidth adjacent to the bandwidth of the added optical channel, the first channel holder including at least one lower frequency sub-slice having a power spectral density that varies throughout the lower frequency sub-slice and is unchanged outside of the lower frequency holding zone;
and
creating a higher frequency holding zone for the second channel holder having a higher frequency bandwidth adjacent to the bandwidth of the added optical channel, the second channel holder including at least one higher frequency sub-slice having a power spectral density that varies throughout the higher frequency sub-slice and is unchanged outside of the lower frequency holding zone;
wherein the lower frequency holding zone and the higher frequency holding zone bandwidths are dynamically configured with respect to one or more of link budget requirements and available signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) margins of the optical channel.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Reducing interference from channel holders in an optical link

Life of this patent

Reducing interference from channel holders in an optical link

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20