Optical switching apparatus using wavelength division multiplexing technology
AssigneeNEC Corporation
InventorsYoshihiko Suemura, Naoya Henmi
Life of this patent
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Abstract
To optimize the number of optical gate switches required by an optical switching apparatus which comprises an optical space switch and wavelength selectors, the following process as a preliminary process of introducing optical signals into the optical space switch, is carried out. In detail, the preliminary process is optically converting the optical signals in relation to the number of input ports of the optical space switch, by optically processing the optical signals. As the results, the number of processed optical signals responding to the input ports and the processed number of wavelengths of each processed optical signal is equal to each other, and thereby, the optimization is achieved.
Claims20
An optical switching apparatus comprising:
- an optical converter, responsive to N WDM optical signals each of which has M multiplexed wavelengths, for converting said N WDM optical signals into K input WDM optical signals each of which has J multiplexed wavelengths, wherein all of N, M, K and J are integers not less than two and J*K is equal to M*N:
- an optical space switch having K input ports and M*N output ports, for responding to K input WDM optical signals to produce M*N switched WDM optical signals through the M*N output ports, and
- M*N wavelength selectors responsive to said M*N switched WDM optical signals, respectively, for selecting one of J wavelengths multiplexed into the responding switched WDM optical signal.
An optical switching apparatus comprising:
- an optical converter, responsive to N WDM optical signals each of which has M multiplexed wavelength, for converting said N WDM optical signals into K input WDM optical signals each of which has J multiplexed wavelength, wherein all of N, M, K and J are Integers not less than two and J*K is equal to M*N;
- and
- an optical wavelength-division/space-division switch comprising K input ports each of which is supplied the responding input WDM optical signal having J multiplexed wavelength.
A method of delivering a plurality of WDM optical signals, N in number, to a plurality of output ports of an optical space switch, each of said WDM optical signals having M multiplexed wavelength, comprising preliminarily processing the WDM optical signals in relation to the number K of input ports of the optical space switch, by optically processing the WDM optical signals so that the number J of wavelength of each processed WDM optical signal transmitting into the responding input port is equal to M*N/K.
A method of delivering a plurality of WDM optical signals, N in number, to a plurality of output ports of an optical wavelength-division/space-division switch, each of said WDM optical signals having M multiplexed wavelength, comprising preliminarily processing the WDM optical signals in relation to the number K of input ports of the optical space switch, by optically processing the WDM optical signals so that the number J of wavelength of each processed WDM optical signal transmitting into the responding input port is equal to M*N/K.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.