US 2015/0318930 A1Published application

Method and Tuning Device for Tuning a Tunable Optical Transmitter to a Predetermined Target Wavelength

AssigneeADVA Optical Networking SE

InventorsKlaus Grobe, Michael Eiselt

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Abstract

A method for tuning a tunable optical transmitter to a target wavelength includes applying at least one tuning signal to the tunable optical transmitter to control the tunable optical transmitter to create an optical calibration signal according to nominal tuning information for the tunable optical transmitter. The optical calibration signal has a wavelength lying within a secure wavelength range, and the nominal tuning information is based on a nominal wavelength dependency for the tunable optical transmitter. The method also includes measuring a deviation between an actual wavelength dependency of the tunable optical transmitter and the nominal wavelength dependency, and determining calibration information based on that deviation. The calibration information is applied to determine a corrected nominal wavelength dependency from which target tuning information is determined. The tunable optical transmitter is controlled to create an optical channel signal according to the target tuning information.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A method for tuning a tunable optical transmitter to a target wavelength, the tunable optical transmitter being included in a plurality of optical transmitters connected to a first end of an optical WDM transmission link, the method comprising:

(a) supplying at least one tuning signal to the tunable optical transmitter to control the tunable optical transmitter to create an optical calibration signal according to nominal tuning information comprising at least one parameter of the at least one tuning signal, wherein
(i) the optical calibration signal has a wavelength lying within a secure wavelength range which excludes any optical channel wavelength range predefined for transmitting an optical channel signal by another one of the plurality of optical transmitters in the direction of the optical calibration signal over the WDM transmission link, and
(ii) the nominal tuning information is determined from a known nominal wavelength dependency characterizing the wavelength dependency of the tunable optical transmitter on the at least one parameter of the at least one tuning signal;
(b) determining calibration information by directly or indirectly measuring, within the secure wavelength range, a deviation between an actual wavelength dependency of the tunable optical transmitter and the nominal wavelength dependency;
and
(c) controlling the tunable optical transmitter to create an optical channel signal according to target tuning information which is determined from a corrected nominal wavelength dependency corrected with respect to the nominal wavelength dependency based on the calibration information, the optical channel signal having a wavelength within a predetermined acceptable tolerance to the target wavelength.

3 more elements

A tuning control device for a respective tunable optical transmitter in an optical WDM system where the WDM system includes a plurality of optical transmitters connected to a first end of an optical WDM transmission link, the tuning control device including:

(a) a tuning information generating unit adapted to
(i) supply at least one first tuning signal to the respective tunable optical transmitter to control the respective tunable optical transmitter to create at least one optical calibration signal according to nominal tuning information comprising at least one parameter of the at least one first tuning signal, and
(ii) supply at least one second tuning signal to the respective tunable optical transmitter to control the respective tunable optical transmitter to create an optical channel signal according to target tuning information, the optical channel signal having a wavelength within a predetermined acceptable tolerance to a target wavelength for the respective tunable optical transmitter;
(b) a detection unit adapted to identify the wavelength of the at least one optical calibration signal;
(c) wherein the optical calibration signal has a wavelength lying within a secure wavelength range which excludes any optical channel wavelength range predefined for transmitting an optical channel signal by another one of the plurality of optical transmitters in the direction of the optical calibration signal over the WDM transmission link, and the nominal tuning information is determined from a known nominal wavelength dependency characterizing the wavelength dependency of the respective tunable optical transmitter on the at least one parameter of the at least one first tuning signal;
and
(d) wherein the target tuning information is determined from calibration information which is obtained based on the wavelength of the at least one optical calibration signal identified by the detection unit.

4 more elements

An optical WDM system comprising:

(a) at least one optical line terminal arranged at a second end of an optical WDM transmission link;
(b) a plurality of optical node units arranged at a first end of the WDN transmission link, each respective optical node unit being connected to a respective channel port of the at least one optical line terminal so as to facilitate respective bidirectional communications between that respective optical node unit and the at least one optical line terminal, the bidirectional communication between a respective optical node unit and the at least one optical line terminal being effected with a respective downstream optical channel signal from the at least one optical line terminal to the respective optical node unit and a respective upstream optical channel signal from the respective optical node unit to the at least one optical line terminal;
(c) each optical node unit includes a respective first optical transceiver and the at least one optical line terminal includes a plurality of second optical transceivers, each of the second optical transceivers defining one of the channel ports of the at least one optical line terminal, at least one of the first optical transceivers or second optical transceivers including a tunable optical transmitter;
(d) a tuning information generating unit adapted to
(i) supply at least one first tuning signal to the tunable optical transmitter to control the tunable optical transmitter to create at least one optical calibration signal according to nominal tuning information comprising at least one parameter of the at least one first tuning signal, and
(ii) supply at least one second tuning signal to the tunable optical transmitter to control the tunable optical transmitter to create a respective optical channel signal according to target tuning information, the respective optical channel signal having a wavelength within a predetermined acceptable tolerance to a target wavelength for the tunable optical transmitter;
(e) a detection unit adapted to identify the wavelength of the at least one optical calibration signal;
(f) wherein the optical calibration signal has a wavelength lying within a secure wavelength range which excludes any optical channel wavelength range predefined for transmitting optical channel signals by another one of the optical transceivers in the direction of the calibration signal over the WDM transmission link, and the nominal tuning information is determined from a known nominal wavelength dependency characterizing the wavelength dependency of the tunable optical transmitter on the at least one parameter of the at least one first tuning signal;
and
(g) wherein the target tuning information is determined from calibration information which is obtained based on the wavelength of the at least one optical calibration signal identified by the detection unit.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.