Claims
- 1. A method for converting an optical communications signal into the electrical domain comprising:
converting the optical communications signal into an electrical signal comprising a modulated electrical signal and a bias electrical signal; generating a control signal based on the bias electrical signal; controlling a gain in a feedforward manner with the control signal; and amplifying the modulated electrical signal according to the gain.
- 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the controlling step further comprises applying the control signal in the feedforward manner to control an amplifier.
- 3. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the control signal comprises generating a signal to compensate for fluctuations in voltage of the electrical signals.
- 4. The method of claim 1, wherein controlling the gain comprises compensating for a nonlinearity in a gain verses control signal characteristic.
- 5. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the control signal comprises generating a signal to compensate for fluctuations in voltage of the electrical signals due to temperature.
- 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating step further comprises generating a digital bias electrical signal and processing the digital bias electrical signal.
- 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the optical signal comprises a bias optical signal and a modulated optical signal and wherein the converting step further comprises:
generating the modulated electrical signal corresponding to the modulated optical signal; and generating the bias electrical signal corresponding to the bias optical signal.
- 8. The method of claim 1, wherein controlling the gain of the amplifier comprises adjusting an attenuation of the modulated electrical signal.
- 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the controlling step further comprises compensating for a fluctuation in the optical signal.
- 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of propagating the modulated electrical signal through an impedance mismatch.
- 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the converting step further comprises outputting the electrical signal from a photodiode, and wherein the amplifying step further comprises amplifying the modulated electrical signal with an amplifier, and wherein the method further comprises the steps of:
coupling the optical signal from an optical waveguide to the photodiode; and transmitting the modulated electrical signal through an impedance mismatch between the photodiode and the amplifier.
- 12. The method of claim 1, wherein controlling the gain in the feedforward manner comprises modifying a performance of an amplifier based on an input to the amplifier.
- 13. A method for converting optical communication signals into electrical communication signals comprising:
receiving light from a waveguide; generating an electrical current corresponding to the received light; transmitting a modulated component of the electrical current through an impedance mismatch; applying amplification to the modulated component of the electrical current; and adjusting the amplification.
- 14. The method of claim 13, wherein adjusting the amplification comprises adjusting the amplification according to an intensity of the received light.
- 15. The method of claim 13, wherein adjusting the amplification comprises adjusting the amplification based on the amplified modulated component of the electrical current.
- 16. The method of claim 13, wherein adjusting the amplification comprises adjusting the amplification based on the electrical current.
- 17. An optical receiver comprising:
a light detector comprising an optical port and an electrical port; an amplifier comprising:
an input port coupled to the electrical port of the light detector; an output port; and a gain control port; and a gain control circuit comprising a linear compensator, wherein the gain control circuit is coupled to the electrical port of the light detector and to the gain control port of the amplifier.
- 18. The optical receiver of claim 17, wherein the gain control circuit further comprises an analog-to-digital converter.
- 19. The optical receiver of claim 17, wherein the linear compensator comprises digital logic.
- 20. The optical receiver of claim 17, wherein the linear compensator comprises a lookup table.
- 21. The optical receiver of claim 17, wherein the gain control circuit comprises a microcontroller.
- 22. The optical receiver of claim 17, wherein the linear compensator adjusts for a nonlinear gain verses control voltage characteristic of the amplifier.
- 23. The optical receiver of claim 17, wherein the optical port of the light detector is coupled to an optical waveguide of a fiber-to-the-home optical network.
- 24. The optical receiver of claim 17, wherein the optical receiver further comprises a temperature sensor coupled to the gain control circuit.
- 25. The optical receiver of claim 17, wherein the coupling between the electrical port of the light detector and the input port of the amplifier comprises an impedance mismatch.
- 26. The optical receiver of claim 17, wherein a wire-wound transformer is not coupled between the electrical port of the light detector and the input port of the electrical amplifier.
- 27. The optical receiver of claim 17, wherein the amplifier is operative to output a radio frequency signal through its output port.
- 28. The optical receiver of claim 17, wherein the gain control circuit is operative to provide feedforward control of an amplification gain.
- 29. An optoelectronic system comprising:
an optical detector for receiving an analog optical signal and generating an analog electrical signal; an amplifier circuit connected to the optical detector for amplifying at least some portion of the analog electrical signal; and a control circuit connected to the amplifier circuit for controlling the amplification of the amplifier circuit, wherein the control circuit comprises a linearity compensation component.
- 30. The optoelectronic system of claim 29, wherein the optical detector is operative to receive the analog optical signal and to generate the analog electrical signal having a power and wherein the control circuit is further operative to cause the amplification to increase if the power decreases.
- 31. The optoelectronic system of claim 29, wherein controlling the amplification of the amplifier circuit comprises controlling a gain of the amplifier circuit, and wherein the linearity compensation component causes the amplifier circuit to adjust the gain in a linear manner with respect to a gain control signal.
- 32. The optoelectronic system of claim 29, wherein the linearity compensation component is operative to facilitate a linear adjustment of the amplification in response to a change in the analog optical signal.
- 33. The optoelectronic system of claim 29, wherein the control circuit comprises a microcontroller.
- 34. The optoelectronic system of claim 29, further comprising an impedance mismatch between the amplifier circuit and the optical detector.
- 35. A circuit operative to receive optical signals broadcast over a fiber optic network and to output radio frequency electrical signals corresponding to the broadcast optical signals, the circuit comprising:
a photodiode; an amplifier in communication with the photodiode, for amplifying modulated current from the photodiode; a gain control circuit in communication with the amplifier, for controlling the amplifier; and an impedance mismatch between the amplifier and the photodiode.
- 36. The circuit of claim 35, wherein the gain control circuit comprises a linear compensation component.
- 37. The circuit of claim 35, wherein the gain control circuit is in communication with the amplifier in a feedforward architecture.
- 38. The circuit of claim 35, wherein the gain control circuit comprises an input coupled to an output of the amplifier.
- 39. The circuit of claim 35, wherein the amplifier comprises two amplification stages.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of priority as a continuation-in-part of U.S. Nonprovisional Ser. No. 09/899,410 entitled “System and Method for Communicating Optical Signals between a Data Service Provider and Subscribers” filed Jul. 5, 2001 and to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/436,843 entitled “Improved Broadcast Optical Receiver” filed Dec. 27, 2002. The subject matter of both the U.S. Nonprovisional and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/436,843 is hereby fully incorporated by reference.
Provisional Applications (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
|
60436843 |
Dec 2002 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09899410 |
Jul 2001 |
US |
Child |
10746407 |
Dec 2003 |
US |