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US 11,143,822 B1Granted
Optical filter system and method of operation
AssigneeLuminous Computing, Inc.
InventorsMitchell A. Nahmias, Michael Gao
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An optical filter system, preferably including an optical input, one or more sets of filters, and/or a control module. A method for optical filter operation, preferably including operating an optical filter system in a normal mode, assessing filter alignment, and/or shifting filter assignments.
Claims17
A method for spectral filter bank operation, the method comprising:
- determining channel assignments for a spectral filter bank, comprising:
- associating a first optical filter of the spectral filter bank with a first wavelength channel;
- and
- associating a second optical filter of the spectral filter bank with a second wavelength channel different from the first wavelength channel;
- throughout a first time period, controlling the spectral filter bank based on the channel assignments and a plurality of weights, comprising:
- based on a first weight of the plurality, determining a first control signal, wherein the first weight is substantially greater than 0 and substantially less than 1;
- based on a second weight of the plurality, determining a second control signal, wherein the second weight is different from the first weight;
- providing the first control signal to the first optical filter;
- and
- providing the second control signal to the second optical filter;
- receiving a series of optical input signals at the spectral filter bank, comprising:
- receiving a first subseries of the series during the first time period;
- and
- receiving a second subseries of the series during a second time period after the first time period;
- wherein each optical input signal of the series comprises:
- a respective first portion within the first wavelength channel;
- and
- a respective second portion within the second wavelength channel;
- during the first time period, for each optical input signal of the first subseries, in response to receiving the optical input signal at the input, filtering the optical input signal, comprising:
- at the first optical filter, filtering the respective first portion based on the first control signal;
- and
- at the second optical filter, filtering the respective second portion based on the second control signal;
- determining satisfaction of a filter assignment shift criterion;
- in response to determining satisfaction of the filter assignment shift criterion, determining shifted channel assignments for the spectral filter bank, comprising:
- associating the first optical filter with the second wavelength channel;
- and
- associating a third optical filter of the spectral filter bank with the first wavelength channel;
- in response to determining the shifted channel assignments, throughout the second time period, controlling the spectral filter bank based on the shifted channel assignments and the plurality of weights, comprising:
- based on the second weight, determining an updated first control signal;
- based on the first weight, determining an updated third control signal;
- providing the updated first control signal to the first optical filter;
- and
- providing the updated third control signal to the third optical filter;
- and
- during the second time period, for each optical input signal of the second subseries, in response to receiving the optical input signal at the input, filtering the optical input signal, comprising:
- at the first optical filter, filtering the respective second portion based on the updated first control signal;
- and
- at the third optical filter, filtering the respective first portion based on the updated third control signal.
35 more elements
A method for spectral filter bank operation, the method comprising:
- determining channel assignments for a spectral filter bank, comprising:
- associating a first optical filter of the spectral filter bank with a first wavelength channel;
- and
- associating a second optical filter of the spectral filter bank with a second wavelength channel different from the first wavelength channel;
- controlling the spectral filter bank based on the channel assignments, comprising:
- controlling the first optical filter to filter the first wavelength channel;
- and
- controlling the second optical filter to filter the second wavelength channel;
- while controlling the spectral filter bank based on the channel assignments, at the spectral filter bank, filtering a first optical input signal, the first optical input signal comprising a first portion within the first wavelength channel and a second portion within the second wavelength channel, wherein the first optical filter filters the first portion and the second optical filter filters the second portion;
- after filtering the first optical input signal, determining satisfaction of a filter assignment shift criterion;
- determining shifted channel assignments for the spectral filter bank, comprising:
- associating the first optical filter with the second wavelength channel;
- and
- associating a third optical filter of the spectral filter bank with the first wavelength channel;
- in response to determining satisfaction of the filter assignment shift criterion, controlling the spectral filter bank based on the shifted channel assignments, comprising:
- controlling the third optical filter to filter the first wavelength channel;
- and
- controlling the first optical filter to filter the second wavelength channel;
- and
- while controlling the spectral filter bank based on the shifted channel assignments, at the spectral filter bank, filtering a second optical input signal, the second optical input signal comprising a first portion within the first wavelength channel and a second portion within the second wavelength channel, wherein the third optical filter filters the first portion and the first optical filter filters the second portion;
- wherein:
- the channel assignments comprise a respective optical filter association for each wavelength channel of a plurality of wavelength channels, the plurality of wavelength channels comprising the first and second wavelength channels;
- the wavelength channels of the plurality are non-overlapping;
- the wavelength channels of the plurality are substantially equally spaced, wherein each pair of adjacent wavelength channels of the plurality define a channel spacing;
- the spectral filter bank comprises a plurality of optical filters, the plurality of optical filters comprising the first, second, and third optical filters;
- the channel assignments associate each wavelength channel of the plurality of wavelength channels with a different optical filter of the plurality of optical filters;
- the shifted channel assignments associate each wavelength channel of the plurality of wavelength channels with a different optical filter of the plurality of optical filters;
- controlling the spectral filter bank comprises, at a control module, for each optical filter of the plurality, independently adjusting a respective resonance wavelength of the optical filter;
- and
- for each optical filter of the plurality, the control module is configured to adjust the respective resonance wavelength over a wavelength range at least 1.5 times wider than the channel spacing.
27 more elements
A method for spectral filter bank operation, the method comprising:
- determining channel assignments for a spectral filter bank, comprising:
- associating a first optical filter of the spectral filter bank with a first wavelength channel;
- and
- associating a second optical filter of the spectral filter bank with a second wavelength channel different from the first wavelength channel;
- controlling the spectral filter bank based on the channel assignments, comprising:
- controlling the first optical filter to filter the first wavelength channel;
- and
- controlling the second optical filter to filter the second wavelength channel;
- while controlling the spectral filter bank based on the channel assignments, at the spectral filter bank, filtering a first optical input signal, the first optical input signal comprising a first portion within the first wavelength channel and a second portion within the second wavelength channel, wherein the first optical filter filters the first portion and the second optical filter filters the second portion;
- after filtering the first optical input signal, determining satisfaction of a filter assignment shift criterion;
- determining shifted channel assignments for the spectral filter bank, comprising:
- associating the first optical filter with the second wavelength channel;
- and
- associating a third optical filter of the spectral filter bank with the first wavelength channel;
- in response to determining satisfaction of the filter assignment shift criterion, controlling the spectral filter bank based on the shifted channel assignments, comprising:
- controlling the third optical filter to filter the first wavelength channel;
- and
- controlling the first optical filter to filter the second wavelength channel;
- and
- while controlling the spectral filter bank based on the shifted channel assignments, at the spectral filter bank, filtering a second optical input signal, the second optical input signal comprising a first portion within the first wavelength channel and a second portion within the second wavelength channel, wherein the third optical filter filters the first portion and the first optical filter filters the second portion;
- after filtering the second optical input signal, determining satisfaction of a reverse filter assignment shift criterion;
- in response to determining satisfaction of the reverse filter assignment shift criterion, controlling the spectral filter bank based on the channel assignments, comprising:
- controlling the first optical filter to filter the first wavelength channel;
- and
- controlling the second optical filter to filter the second wavelength channel;
- and
- while controlling the spectral filter bank based on the channel assignments in response to determining satisfaction of the reverse filter assignment shift criterion, at the spectral filter bank, filtering a third optical input signal, the third optical input signal comprising a first portion within the first wavelength channel and a second portion within the second wavelength channel, wherein the first optical filter filters the first portion and the second optical filter filters the second portion.
24 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.