Claims
- 1. A re-configurable optical add/drop switch, comprising:
an optical branching means having an optical input and at least one optical output for respectively optically coupling light into and out of said optical branching means; a wavelength selective switchable filter means having a filter input and a filter output, a first multiport optical switch in switching relationship with said filter input and a second multiport optical switch in switching relationship with said filter output, said at least one optical output being optically coupled to said first multiport optical switch, wherein in one switch position said first and second multiport optical switches re optically coupled to said filter input and filter output respectively producing an optical path into said first optical switch through said wavelength selective switchable filter means and out of said second multiport optical switch, and in a second switch position said first and second multiport optical switches are optically coupled together thereby bypassing said wavelength selective switchable filter means.
- 2. The re-configurable optical add/drop switch according to claim 1 wherein said optical branching member is an optical circulator, and wherein said wavelength selective switchable filter is a reflective wavelength selective switchable filter.
- 3. The re-configurable optical add/drop switch according to claim 2 wherein said reflective wavelength selective switchable filter is a switchable fiber Bragg grating.
- 4. The re-configurable optical add/drop switch according to claim 3 including a second reflective wavelength selective switchable filter optically coupled between said at least one optical output and said first multiport optical switch.
- 5. The re-configurable optical add/drop switch according to claim 4 wherein said second reflective wavelength selective switchable filter is a switchable fiber Bragg grating.
- 6. The re-configurable optical add/drop switch according to claim 1 wherein said wavelength selective switchable filter is mounted on a module which is pluggable into a slot adapted to receive said module and wherein when said module is inserted into said slot said wavelength selective switchable filter is in optical switching engagement with said first and second multiport optical switches.
- 7. The re-configurable optical add/drop switch according to claim 6 wherein each of said first and second multiport optical switches include an optical backplane connector, and wherein said filter input engages one optical backplane connector and said filter output engages the other backplane connector when said module is plugged into said slot.
- 8. The re-configurable optical add/drop switch according to claim 1 wherein said optical branching member is an optical coupler, and wherein said wavelength selective switchable filter is a transmissive or wavelength selective switchable filter.
- 9. The re-configurable optical add/drop switch according to claim 8 wherein said wavelength selective switchable filter comprises an optical dispersive element having a dispersed light output incident on one of an array of iquid crystal switches and an array of micro electromechanical switches.
- 10. A re-configurable optical add/drop switch, comprising:
an optical branching means having an optical input and at least one optical output for respectively optically coupling light into and out of said optical branching means; a wavelength selective switchable filter having a filter optical input and a filter optical output, said filter optical input being optically coupled to said at least one optical output, and a first multiport optical switch in switching relationship with said optical input and a second multiport optical switch in switching relationship with said filter optical output, wherein in one switched position said first and second multiport optical switches are optically coupled to said optical input and filter output respectively producing an optical path into said first optical switch through said optical branching member and said wavelength selective switchable filter and out of said second multiport optical switch, and in another switched position said first and second multiport optical switches are optically coupled together thereby bypassing said optical branching member and said wavelength selective switchable filter.
- 11. The re-configurable optical add/drop switch according to claim 10 wherein said optical branching member is an optical circulator, and wherein said wavelength selective switchable filter is a reflective wavelength selective switchable filter.
- 12. The re-configurable optical add/drop switch according to claim 11 wherein said reflective wavelength selective switchable filter is a switchable fiber Bragg grating.
- 13. The re-configurable optical add/drop switch according to claim 10 wherein said optical branching member is an optical coupler, and wherein said wavelength selective switchable filter is a transmissive or wavelength selective switchable filter.
- 14. The re-configurable optical add/drop switch according to claim 13 wherein said wavelength selective switchable filter comprises an optical dispersive element having a dispersed light output incident on one of an array of iquid crystal switches and an array of micro electromechanical switches.
- 15. The re-configurable optical add/drop switch according to claim 10 wherein said wavelength selective switchable filter is mounted on a module which is pluggable into a slot adapted to receive said module and wherein when said module is inserted into said slot said wavelength selective switchable filter is in optical switching engagement with said first and second multiport optical switches.
- 16. The re-configurable optical add/drop switch according to claim 15 wherein each of said first and second multiport optical switches include an optical backplane connector, and wherein said filter input engages one optical backplane connector and said filter output engages the other backplane connector when said module is plugged into said slot.
- 17. An optical device for splitting and recombining optical signals, comprising:
optical band splitting means for splitting an optical band input into said optical device into a pre-selected number N of optical sub-bands with each sub-band including a pre-selected number of wavelengths; N re-configurable optical add/drop switches, each of said N optical sub-bands being optically coupled into an associated re-configurable optical add/drop switch as claimed in claim 1; and optical signal combining means for combining an output of each of said N re-configurable optical add/drop switches into an optical band output from said optical device.
- 18. The optical device according to claim 17 wherein said optical band splitting means includes a cascaded series of optical band splitters, and wherein said optical signal combining means includes a cascaded series of optical signal combiners cascaded in an opposite direction as said cascaded series of optical band splitters.
- 19. The optical device according to claim 18 wherein each optical band splitter has an optical input and two optical outputs for receiving a band of optical signals and splitting said band of optical signals into two sub-bands which are output on the two optical outputs.
- 20. The optical device according to claim 18 wherein each optical signal combiner includes two optical inputs for receiving two sub-bands of optical signals and an optical output for outputting the two combined sub-bands.
- 21. The optical device according to claim 19 wherein said optical signals input into, and output from, said optical band splitters, re-configurable optical add/drop switches optical signal combiners propagate in optical fibers which are optically coupled thereto.
- 22. An optical device for splitting and recombining optical signals, comprising:
optical replicating means for replicating an optical band into at least two substantially identical optical bands; optical band splitting means optically coupled to said optical replicating means for splitting each of said substantially identical optical bands input into a pre-selected number N of optical sub-bands; N re-configurable optical add/drop switches, each of said N optical sub-bands being optically coupled to an associated re-configurable optical add/drop switch as claimed in claims 1, 4 or 10; and optical signal combining means for combining an output of each of said N re-configurable optical add/drop switches into an optical band output from said optical device.
- 23. The optical device according to claim 22 wherein said re-configurable optical add/drop switches includes an optical isolation means optically coupled thereto and a bandstop grating means for attenuating selected wavelengths propagating therethrough.
- 24. The optical device according to claim 22 wherein said optical band splitting means includes a cascaded series of optical band splitters, and wherein said optical signal combining means includes a cascaded series of optical signal combiners cascaded in an opposite direction as said cascaded series of optical band splitters.
- 25. The optical device according to claim 24 wherein each optical band splitter has an optical input and two optical outputs for receiving a band of optical signals and splitting said band of optical signals into two sub-bands which are output on the two optical outputs.
- 26. The optical device according to claim 24 wherein each optical signal combiner includes two optical inputs for receiving two sub-bands of optical signals and an optical output for outputting the two combined sub-bands.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED U.S. PATENT APPLICATION
[0001] This patent application relates to U.S. provisional patent application Serial No. 60/364,038 filed on Mar. 15, 2002 entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR A FIELD UPGRADABLE RE-CONFIGURABLE OPTICAL ADD/DROP SWITCH.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60364038 |
Mar 2002 |
US |