# US 2016/0259128 A1 · Optical arrangement for managing diversity and isolation between ports in a wavelength selective switch

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- Number: US 2016/0259128 A1
- Document ID: US20160259128A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 14/636,479
- Filed: 2015-03-03
- Published: 2016-09-08
- Earliest claimed: 2015-03-03
- Assignees: Nistica, Inc.
- Applicants: Nistica, Inc.
- Inventors: Jefferson L. Wagener; Carl Edmund Soccolich; Takaaki Ishikawa
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20160259128A1

## CPC

- G02B 6/3594: {Characterised by additional functional means, e.g. means for variably attenuating or branching or means for switching differently polarized beams}
- G02B 6/29302: {based on birefringence or polarisation, e.g. wavelength dependent birefringence, polarisation interferometers}
- G02B 6/29371: {operating principle based on material dispersion}
- G02B 6/354: {Switching arrangements, i.e. number of input/output ports and interconnection types}
- G02B 6/356: {in an optical cross-connect device, e.g. routing and switching aspects of interconnecting different paths propagating different wavelengths to (re)configure the various input and output links (switching polarized beams G02B6/3594; power equalizers G02B6/356 and G02B6/3594; path selecting means H04Q11/0001)}
- G02B 6/3592: {Means for removing polarization dependence of the switching means, i.e. polarization insensitive switching (light guides coupling with polarization selective and adjusting means G02B6/27)}
- G02F 1/011: {in optical waveguides, not otherwise provided for in this subclass}
- G02F 1/0136: {for the control of polarisation, e.g. state of polarisation [SOP] control, polarisation scrambling, TE-TM mode conversion or separation (G02F1/0353 takes precedence)}
- G02F 1/09: based on magneto-optical elements, e.g. exhibiting Faraday effect
- G02F 1/1326: {Liquid crystal optical waveguides or liquid crystal cells specially adapted for gating or modulating between optical waveguides}
- G02B 6/3558: {1xN switch, i.e. one input and a selectable single output of N possible outputs}
- G02F 1/093: {used as non-reciprocal devices, e.g. optical isolators, circulators (G02F1/0955 takes precedence)}
- G02F 1/31: Digital deflection, {i.e. optical switching}(G02F1/33 takes precedence)
- G02F 2203/05: wavelength dependent
- G02F 2203/07: Polarisation dependent
- G02F 2203/585: Add/drop devices
- G02B: OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
- G02F: OPTICAL DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE CONTROL OF LIGHT BY MODIFICATION OF THE OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF THE MEDIA OF THE ELEMENTS INVOLVED THEREIN; NON-LINEAR OPTICS; FREQUENCY-CHANGING OF LIGHT; OPTICAL LOGIC ELEMENTS; OPTICAL ANALOGUE/DIGITAL CONVERTERS

## Abstract

An optical device includes an optical port array, an optical arrangement, a dispersion element, a focusing element and a programmable optical phase modulator. The optical port array has at least one optical input port for receiving an optical beam and a plurality of optical output ports. The optical arrangement allows optical coupling between the input port and each of the output ports and prevents optical coupling between any one of the plurality of optical output ports and any other of the plurality of optical output ports. The dispersion element receives the optical beam from the input port after traversing the optical arrangement and spatially separates the optical beam into a plurality of wavelength components. The focusing element focuses the plurality of wavelength components. The programmable optical phase modulator receives the focused plurality of wavelength components and steers them to a selected one of the optical outputs.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An optical device, comprising:
an optical port array having at least one optical input port for receiving an optical beam and a plurality of optical output ports;
an optical arrangement for allowing optical coupling between the at least one optical input port and each of the optical output ports and preventing optical coupling between any one of the plurality of optical output ports and any other of the plurality of optical output ports;
a dispersion element receiving the optical beam from the at least one optical input after traversing the optical arrangement and spatially separating the optical beam into a plurality of wavelength components;
a focusing element for focusing the plurality of wavelength components; and
a programmable optical phase modulator for receiving the focused plurality of wavelength components, the modulator being configured to steer the wavelength components to a selected one of the optical outputs.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The optical device of claim 1, wherein the optical arrangement is configured to selectively allow and prevent optical coupling between selected ports by discriminating among different polarization states of optical energy traversing therethrough.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The optical device of claim 1, wherein the optical arrangement includes: at least one walkoff crystal for spatially separating the optical beams received from any of the ports in optical port array into first and second optical components being arranged in first and second polarization states, respectively; a first composite half-wave plate for arranging the first optical components into the second polarization state; a polarizer for transmitting optical energy in the second polarization state but not the first polarization state; a Faraday rotator and a second composite half-wave plate, the Faraday rotator and the second composite half-wave plate rotating the spatially separated optical beams received from the optical input port via the polarizer into the first polarization state and rotating the spatially separated optical beams received from the plurality of optical output ports into the second orthogonal polarization state.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The optical device of claim 1, wherein the optical arrangement includes: at least one walkoff crystal for spatially separating the optical beams received from any of the ports in optical port array into first and second optical components being arranged in first and second polarization states, respectively; a first composite half-wave plate for arranging the first optical components into the second polarization state; a Faraday rotator and a second composite half-wave plate, the Faraday rotator and the second composite half-wave plate rotating the spatially separated optical beams received from the optical input port via the first composite half-wave plate into the first polarization state and rotating the spatially separated optical beams received from the plurality of optical output ports into the second orthogonal polarization state.

### Claim 5 (depends on 6)

The optical device of claim 6, wherein the optical arrangement is further configured to receive the optical beam in any polarization state and provide the optical beam to the dispersion element in a predetermined polarization state.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The optical device of claim 1, wherein the programmable optical phase modulator includes a liquid crystal-based phase modulator.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The optical device of claim 6, wherein the liquid crystal-based phase modulator is a LCoS device.

### Claim 8 (depends on 6)

The optical device of claim 6, wherein the dispersive element is selected from the group consisting of a diffraction grating and a prism.

### Claim 9 (depends on 6)

The optical device of claim 6, further comprising an optical system for magnifying the optical beam received from the optical port array and directing the magnified optical beam to the dispersion element.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The optical device of claim 9, wherein the optical system has a first magnification factor in a first direction and a second magnification factor in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, the first magnification factor being different from the second magnification factor.

### Claim 11 (depends on 15)

The optical device of claim 15, wherein the first direction is parallel to a wavelength dispersion axis along which the optical beam is spatially separated, the first magnification factor being less than the second magnification factor.

### Claim 12 (depends on 6)

The optical device of claim 6, wherein the optical arrangement includes a Faraday rotator disposed between optical paths traversed by an optical beam between any pair of the optical input and output ports and the programmable optical phase modulator.