Wavelength selective switch
AssigneesO-Net Communications (USA) Inc., O-Net Technologies (Shenzhen) Group Co., Ltd.
InventorsChenjun Fan, Zuowen Jiang, Wenlu Wang
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
This patent document discloses, among others, wavelength-selective switches (WSS) for redirecting optical WDM signals or channels based on a combination of spatially separating light in different optical polarizations in an optical birefringent material and using diffractive optics for separating light at different optical WDM wavelengths into spatially separated optical beam to perform wavelength-selective optical switching in optical WDM applications. Notably, the optics for processing the optical WDM signals in the disclosed optical WSS devices is designed to provide scalable optical WSS devices where different WDM signals share optical components to reduce designed optical components for different WDM signals.
Claims19
A wavelength selective switch comprising:
- a first array of optical fibers spaced apart in a first plane;
- an optical birefringent material for receiving light from an optical fiber of the first array and for spatially separating the light into two diverging optical beams having orthogonal polarizations, the diverging optical beams defining a second plane perpendicular to the first plane;
- a rotationally symmetric collimating lens spaced from the first array by a focal length of the collimating lens for receiving the diverging optical beams from the optical birefringent material and transforming the diverging optical beams into two spatially separated parallel optical beams;
- an optical polarization rotator for causing the parallel optical beams to have a same polarization;
- an optical grating downstream from the optical polarization rotator and the collimating lens for receiving the parallel optical beams in the same polarization, and for diffracting each optical beam into diffracted output beams at different wavelengths in different diffracted beam directions in the second plane;
- and
- an array of optical deflectors positioned relative to the optical grating to receive the output beams at different wavelengths and redirect, by reflecting the output beams at an angle variable in the first plane, to propagate back to the optical grating, the optical polarization rotator, the collimating lens, the optical birefringent material, and an optical fiber of the first array, in a wavelength-selective manner.
A wavelength selective switch comprising:
- an M×N array of optical fibers;
- an optical birefringent material for receiving light from an optical fiber of the M×N array and spatially separating the light into two diverging optical beams having orthogonal polarizations;
- a rotationally symmetric collimating lens spaced from the M×N array by a focal length of the collimating lens for receiving the diverging optical beams from the optical fiber and transforming the diverging optical beams into spatially separated parallel optical beams;
- an optical polarization rotator for causing the parallel optical beams to have a same polarization;
- a reflective optical grating downstream from the optical polarization rotator and the collimating lens for receiving the parallel optical beams in the same polarization and for diffracting each optical beam into diffracted beams at different wavelengths in different diffracted beam directions;
- and
- an array of optical deflectors disposed in optical paths of the diffracted beams at the different wavelengths and configured to redirect, by reflection at a variable angle in a first plane, the output beams back to the reflective optical grating, the optical polarization rotator, the collimating lens, the optical birefringent material, and an optical fiber of the M×N array of optical fibers, in a wavelength-selective manner;
- wherein the diverging optical beams and the diffracted beams define a second plane perpendicular to the first plane.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.