US 2013/0170787 A1Published application

Optical communication system having tunable sources

AssigneeInfinera Corporation

InventorsRADHAKRISHNAN L. NAGARAJAN, Masaki Kato, Michael Francis Van Leeuwen, Timothy Butrie

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Abstract

Consistent with one example of the disclosed implementations, a photonic integrated circuit (PIC) may be provided that includes s group of lasers and an arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) disposed on a substrate. Each laser in the group may supply an optical signal, such that each optical signal has a different wavelength. Each laser may be tunable to at least two designated wavelengths, which are separated from one another by a free spectral range (FSR) of the AWG. As a result, the optical signals provided from each laser may be combined by the AWG, regardless of which designated wavelength the optical signals have. Accordingly, a PIC may be provided that has a relatively simple construction but can supply optical signals having tunable wavelengths.

Claims28

Dependent claims

An apparatus, comprising:

a first optical source configured to selectively supply a first optical signal having a first wavelength or a second optical signal of a second wavelength;
a second optical source configured to selectively supply a third optical signal having a third wavelength or a fourth optical signal having a fourth wavelength;
a spectral multiplexer grating having a plurality of input waveguides, and an output waveguide, one of the plurality of input waveguides having associated first and second passbands, the first passband being spectrally spaced from the second passband, the first passband including the first wavelength and the second passband including the second wavelength, and a second one of the plurality of input waveguides having associated third and fourth passbands, the third passband being spectrally spaced from the fourth passband, the third passband including the third wavelength and the fourth passband including the fourth wavelength;
and
a control circuit to:
tune the first optical source to supply the first optical signal and tune the second optical source to supply the third optical signal;
or
tune the first optical source to supply the second optical signal and the second optical source to supply the fourth optical signal.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.