US 2026/0202618 A1 · OPTICAL SWITCH WITH MULTIMODE PHASE SHIFTER

Abstract

An optical switch includes an input splitter, a phase shift section, and an output combiner. The input splitter splits a first optical signal input into a first single mode input onto first and second multimode outputs and splits a second optical signal input into a second single mode input onto the first and second multimode outputs. The phase shift section has a phase shifter and first and second multimode waveguides coupled with the first and second multimode outputs, respectively. The phase shifter selectively causes a multimode optical signal within the first multimode waveguide to undergo a phase shift relative to a multimode optical signal within the second multimode waveguide. The multimode optical signals each include portions of the first and second optical signals. The output combiner receives the multimode optical signals and recombines the first and second optical signals onto first and second single mode outputs, respectively.

Claims20

Dependent claims

An optical switch, comprising:

an input splitter arranged to split a first optical signal input into a first single mode input onto first and second multimode outputs and to split a second optical signal input into a second single mode input onto the first and second multimode outputs;
a phase shift section having a first multimode waveguide coupled with the first multimode output, a second multimode waveguide coupled with the second multimode output, and a phase shifter arranged to selectively cause a multimode optical signal traveling through the first multimode waveguide to undergo a phase shift relative to a multimode optical signal traveling through the second multimode waveguide, the multimode optical signals each including a portion of the first optical signal and a portion of the second optical signal;
and
an output combiner arranged to receive the multimode optical signals from the first and second multimode waveguides and to recombine the first optical signal onto a first single mode output and to recombine the second optical signal onto a second single mode output.

1 more element

An apparatus, comprising:

a first multimode variable optical attenuator (MM-VOA);
a second MM-VOA, and
wherein the first MM-VOA and the second MM-VOA each comprise:
an input splitter arranged to split a first optical signal input into a first single mode input onto first and second multimode outputs and to split a second optical signal input into a second single mode input onto the first and second multimode outputs;
a phase shift section comprising a first multimode waveguide coupled with the first multimode output, and a second multimode waveguide coupled with the second multimode output;
and
an output combiner arranged to recombine the first optical signal onto a first single mode output and to recombine the second optical signal onto a second single mode output;
and
a phase shifter shared by the first MM-VOA and the second MM-VOA and arranged to selectively cause a multimode signal traveling through the first multimode waveguide of the first MM-VOA and a multimode signal traveling through the first multimode waveguide of second MM-VOA to each undergo a phase shift, the multimode signal traveling through the first multimode waveguide of the first MM-VOA including portions of the first and second optical signals input into the first and second single mode inputs of the first MM-VOA and the multimode signal traveling through the first multimode waveguide of the second MM-VOA including portions of the first and second optical signals input into the first and second single mode inputs of the second MM-VOA.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Optical switch with multimode phase shifter

Life of this patent

Optical switch with multimode phase shifter

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20