Optical amplifying unit and method to control the same
AssigneeSumitomo Electric Device Innovations, Inc.
InventorRyota TERANISHI
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Abstract
An optical amplifying apparatus and a method to control the same are disclosed. The apparatus includes a semiconductor device that integrates a variable optical attenuator (VOA) with a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA). The VOA evaluates the optical power of an incident beam from a photocurrent generated therein. The attenuation of the VOA and the optical gain by the SOA are optionally determined based on the detected input power.
Claims9
A method to control an optical amplifier unit that implements a semiconductor device integrating a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) with a variable optical attenuator VOA primarily made of semiconductor materials, comprising steps of:
- supplying a first bias to the VOA;
- inputting an incident optical beam into the VOA;
- calculating input power of the incident optical beam through a photocurrent generated in the VOA;
- supplying a second bias to the VOA to adequately attenuate the incident optical beam depending on the input power;
- and
- supplying a bias current to the SOA to set an optional optical gain in the SOA depending on the input power.
An optical apparatus, comprising:
- a semiconductor device that integrates a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) with a variable optical attenuator (VOA) primarily made of semiconductor materials;
- and
- a controller that evaluates input power of an incident optical beam entering the VOA through a photocurrent generated in the VOA, and provides, depending on the input power, a bias to the SOA to attenuate the incident optical beam and a bias current to the SOA to show an optical gain in the SOA.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.