Chirped-pulse multiple wavelength telecommunications system
AssigneeLucent Technologies Inc.
InventorsWayne H. Knox, Martin C. Nuss
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An apparatus and method provides optical multiple wavelength signals using a single optical broadband source to generate many independent optical wavelength channels. An optical transmitter includes a pulse chirping device which separates the frequency components of periodic optical pulses in the time domain forming separate wavelength channels which are separately modulated by a high-speed broadband optical modulator. A receiver includes a passive splitter to separate the individual wavelength channels. The chirped-pulse transmitter can then be conveniently adjusted to provide optimum overlap of wavelength channels with the modulating channel spectra.
Claims29
An optical multiple wavelength apparatus comprising
- an optical disperser for receiving short optical pulses at a first rate and forming therefrom a train of chirped optical pulses with each such chirped optical pulse extending over a plurality of time periods, each time period associated with a different optical wavelength channel;
- and
- an optical modulator encoding an optical wavelength channel of one or more of the time periods of selected ones of the chirped optical pulse train using a data signal operating at a second rate equal to or greater than said first rate to form an encoded optical signal.
A method of operating an optical multiple wavelength communication system comprising the steps of:
- receiving short optical pulses at a first rate and forming a train of chirped optical pulses having a plurality of time periods, each time period associated with a different optical wavelength channel;
- encoding the optical wavelength channel of one or more of the time periods of selected ones of the chirped optical pulse train using a data signal operating at a second rate equal to or greater than said first rate;
- transmitting the resulting encoded optical signal over an optical medium;
- and
- receiving over the optical medium and demultiplexing the encoded optical signal into a plurality of modulated optical wavelength channels.
A method of forming optical multiple wavelength signals comprising the steps of:
- receiving short optical pulses at a first rate and forming therefrom a train of chirped optical pulses with each such chirped optical pulse extending over a plurality of time periods, each time period associated with a different optical wavelength channel;
- and
- encoding the optical wavelength channel of one or more of the time periods of selected ones of the chirped optical pulse train using a data signal operating at a second rate equal to or greater than said first rate to form an encoded optical signal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.