Techniques for dilating and reverse dilating optical channels in an optical system

An apparatus for dilating optical channels in a system having W optical frequencies, the apparatus comprising:

• a converter for receiving a plurality of optical channels each operating at a respective one of the W optical frequencies, and for converting the optical frequency of each of the plurality of optical channels into a respective converted optical frequency defined by Δ+δf, wherein f represents the optical frequency of each of the plurality of optical channels, and wherein δ=±1 and Δ is a frequency-independent frequency shift value and both are constant for all of the plurality of optical channels;
• and
• a routing device for directing each of the plurality of optical channels based at least in part upon the respective converted optical frequency of each of the plurality of optical channels.

An apparatus for reverse dilating optical channels in a system having W optical frequencies, the apparatus comprising:

• a routing device for receiving a plurality of optical channels each operating at a respective one of the W optical frequencies, and for directing each of the plurality of optical channels based at least in part upon the respective optical frequency of each of the plurality of optical channels;
• and
• a converter for converting the optical frequency of each of the plurality of directed optical channels into a respective converted optical frequency defined by Δ+δf, wherein f represents the optical frequency of each of the plurality of directed optical channels, and wherein δ=±1 and Δ is a frequency-independent frequency shift value and both are constant for all of the plurality of directed optical channels.