Roke Manor Research Limited

Other

John Mansbridge

Stephen Philip Rowe

Nicholas Webb

Routers for trunk telecommunication systems currently operate at 2.5 Gb/s. Next generation routers will be required to switch 128 input data streams into 128 output data streams, each data stream being at a data rate of 10 Gb/s. Current routers employ massively parallel electronic switches to route data at 1.25 Gb/s. Such technology is reaching its limit and a new approach to high-speed switching is required. The present invention provides an apparatus and method for enabling such high-speed switching by providing a data compression apparatus which comprises a pulsed chirped laser () coupled to a modulator (), the modulator () being coupled to a compressor (). A chirped laser pulse having the duration of a data packet is modulated with data received on an input channel and then passed through the compressor () in order to generate a compressed modulated data pulse for high speed switching.

Data compression apparatus and method therefor

An acoustically activated marketing for displaying predefined information in response to predefined data being received. The device is obtained from a retailer and worn as a badge while at the cinema or while listening to the radio or TV. When a specific advertisement is broadcast, the badge interprets part of the sound track and activates the display on the badge. The displayed information may be an advertisement or a message. The predefined data may be broadcast by a commercial broadcasting means, such as a television or radio.

Acoustically activated marketing device

A system for controlling the demultiplexing process in an optical backplane device has application to optical switching in high-speed digital communication routers and switches. In demultiplexing, a selected compressed data packet is extracted from a multiplexed stream of compressed packets by a modulator and decompressed. The modulator is controlled by a control signal. An error in the timing of the modulator control signal corresponds to a characteristic distortion in the decompressed signal. By monitoring the effect of timing errors on decompressed signals, steps can be taken to correct the timing errors by controlling delays in either the optical or the electronic parts of the switching device. The timing of modulator control pulses is thus continuously adjusted to minimize timing errors. Instead of monitoring just decompressed signals, calibration pulse trains of known value and suitable form can be inserted.

Demultiplexer control system

A pulse shaping apparatus for shaping an input optical pulse into an output optical pulse having substantially constant optical power, includes a modulator that acts upon the input optical pulse in response to a control signal. A sampling unit samples a portion of the input or output pulse and generates a sample signal that corresponds to the optical power of the input or output optical pulse. In a preferred embodiment, the sampling unit includes a power splitter that splits off sample portion of the input or output pulse, and directs the sample portion to the photodetector which generates the sample signal. Processing of the sample signal may be performed in either an analog or digital form.

Laser pulse shaping device

In the field of Acousto-Optic processors, it is desirable to sample and multiplex a large quantity of time varying data generated by a photodiode array. However, current multiplexers cannot sample at a high enough rate in order to process all of the data generated in real time, resulting in a reduced sampling bandwidth and therefore a loss of information. A data filtering apparatus and method of filtering a plurality of data signals overcomes this problem by providing a channel selection logic unit which instructs a multiplexer to only sample data generated which is above a predetermined threshold value, thereby omitting to sample data which is of little information value.

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Eastleigh, United Kingdom

John Mansbridge