Reconfigurable optical amplifier
AssigneeJDS Uniphase Corporation
InventorsMaxim BOLSHTYANSKY, Gregory Cowle
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A reconfigurable optical amplifier is formed of a plurality of optical switches and a plurality of fiber amplifier sections to provide a switchable amplifying network. A variable pump splitter provides pump light from an optical pump source to two or more fiber amplifier sections. The optical switches and variable pump splitters are formed in a planar lightwave circuit, which may further include pump WDM combiners, variable optical attenuators, tap couplers and other optical components, and to which monitoring photodiodes and the fiber amplifier sections are coupled. A same PLC can be used for a wide variety of reconfigurable optical amplifiers.
Claims18
A reconfigurable optical amplifier (ROA), comprising:
- an input ROA port for receiving light signal;
- an output ROA port for outputting an amplified light signal;
- two photonic lightwave circuit (PLC) switches optically coupled in series for forming two switchable optical paths between the input and output ROA ports, wherein the two PLC switches are formed in a same PLC chip;
- a first fiber amplifier section (FAS) optically coupled between the two PLC switches in one of the two switchable optical paths;
- a second FAS optically coupled between the two PLC switches in the other of the two switchable optical paths, or in a common portion of the two switchable optical paths;
- an optical pump source for generating pump light for pumping the first and second FASs;
- and,
- a variable pump splitter comprising an input port optically coupled to the optical pump source for receiving the pump light therefrom, and first and second output ports coupled to the first and second FASs, respectively, for directing the pump light to variably pump one or both of the first and second FAS therewith in dependence upon switching states of the first and second PLC switches.
A reconfigurable optical amplifier (ROA), comprising:
- an input ROA port for receiving light signal;
- an output ROA port for outputting an amplified light signal;
- two photonic lightwave circuit (PLC) switches optically coupled in series for forming two switchable optical paths between the input and output ROA ports, wherein the two PLC switches are formed in a same PLC chip;
- a first fiber amplifier section (FAS) optically coupled between the two PLC switches in one of the two switchable optical paths;
- a second FAS optically coupled between the two PLC switches in the other of the two switchable optical paths;
- an optical pump source for generating pump light for pumping the first and second FASs;
- and,
- a PLC pump switch comprising an input port coupled to the optical pump source for receiving the pump light therefrom, and first and second output ports coupled to the first and second FASs, respectively, for switchably directing the pump light to pump one of the first or the second FAS therewith.
A reconfigurable optical amplifier (ROA), comprising:
- an input ROA port for receiving light signal;
- an output ROA port for outputting an amplified light signal;
- first and second photonic lightwave circuit (PLC) switches optically coupled in series for forming two switchable optical paths between the input and output ROA ports, wherein the two PLC switches are formed in a same PLC chip;
- a first fiber amplifier section (FAS) optically coupled between the two PLC switches in a first of the two switchable optical paths;
- a second FAS optically coupled in a common portion of the two switchable optical paths in series with the first and second PLC switches;
- an optical pump source for generating pump light for pumping the first and second FASs;
- and,
- a variable pump splitter comprising an input port coupled to the optical pump source for receiving the pump light therefrom, and first and second output ports optically coupled to the first and second FAS, respectively, for controllably directing the pump light to pump substantially only the second FAS or both the first and the second FAS therewith.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.