US 2007/0183712 A1 · Optical signal amplifying triode and optical signal transfer method, optical signal relay device, and optical signal storage device using the same

Abstract

When in an optical signal amplifying triode 10, light of a second wavelength λ2, selected from among light from a first optical amplifier 26, into which a first input light L1 of a first wavelength λ1 and a second input light L2 of second wavelength λ2 have been input, and a third input light (control light) L3 of a third wavelength λ3 are input into a second optical amplifier 34, an output light L4 of the third wavelength λ3, selected from among the light output from the second optical amplifier 34, is light that is modulated in response to the intensity variation of one or both of the first input light L1 of the first wavelength λ1 and the third input light L3 of the third wavelength λ3 and is an amplified signal, with which the signal gain with respect to the third input light (control light) L3 of the third wavelength λ3 is of a magnitude of 2 or more. An optical signal amplifying triode 10, which can directly perform an optical signal amplification process using control input light, can thus be provided.

Claims11

Dependent claims

An optical signal transfer method of transferring an optical signal train, which has been transmitted via a predetermined transmission path, to transmission paths, among a plurality of transmission paths, that correspond to routing information contained in the optical signal, the optical signal transfer method comprising:

an input step of inputting the optical signal train, to which the routing information have been applied, to the main optical signal amplifying triode unit;
a wavelength conversion step of supplying control light of wavelengths, corresponding to signals indicating the routing information, to the main optical signal amplifying triode unit, and making optical signals of the wavelengths of the control light be output from the main optical signal amplifying triode unit;
and
an optical distribution step of inputting the optical signals, output from the main optical signal amplifying triode unit, into an optical distributor and distributing the optical signals according to their wavelengths among the plurality of optical transmission paths connected to the optical distributor.

1 more element

An optical signal relay device, which, among optical signal transmission networks, transfers an optical signal train, having routing information added thereto by amplitude modulation, from one network to transmission paths, among the transmission paths of another network, that correspond to the routing information contained in the optical signal, comprising:

a control light generator, generating, based on the amplitude modulation signals of the optical signal train, control light of wavelengths corresponding to the destinations indicated by the amplitude modulation signals;
a main optical signal amplifying triode unit, converting the optical signal train into an optical signal of the wavelengths of the control light;
and
an optical distributor, distributing the optical signal, output from the main optical signal amplifying triode unit, among a plurality of optical transmission paths in accordance with the wavelengths of the optical signal.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Optical signal amplifying triode and optical signal transfer method, optical signal relay device, and optical signal storage device using the same

Life of this patent

Optical signal amplifying triode and optical signal transfer method, optical signal relay device, and optical signal storage device using the same

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims11