Comb laser optical transmitter and roadm

A device, comprising:

• a comb laser to provide a source beam having a plurality of wavelengths;
• an input collimator, coupled to the comb laser, to condition the source beam for separating the wavelengths;
• a diffraction grating, coupled to the input collimator, to create a plurality of beams from the source beam, wherein each beam is centered at a different wavelength;
• a plurality of processors, each being coupled to the diffraction grating, to separately process each beam from the plurality of beams, each processor further comprising:
• a first collimator coupled to the diffraction grating;
• a variable optical attenuator coupled to the collimator;
• a modulator coupled to the variable optical attenuator;
• and
• a second collimator coupled to the modulator;
• an output collimator coupled to the second collimator of each processor;
• and
• a multiplexer coupled to the second collimator to provide an output beam having a plurality of wavelengths.

A method, comprising:

• generating a comb source beam having a plurality of wavelengths;
• collimating the comb source beam;
• separating the comb source beam into a plurality of beams, wherein each separated beam is centered at a different wavelength;
• processing each beam from the plurality of beams separately;
• and
• combining the plurality of processed beams into an output beam having a plurality of wavelengths.

The method of 19, further comprising:

• sensing the amplitude of each processed beam;
• comparing the sensed amplitude to a threshold for each processed beam;
• and
• adjusting at least one of an amplifier gain, or a variable attenuator for each processed beam in based on to the comparing.