Tellabs Operations, Inc.

Coriant Operations, Inc.

Julia Y Larikova

Yajun Wang

Richard C Younce

Bradley Ronald Kangas

Richard Y Younce

David W Jenkins

Rafid Antoon Sukkar

Mark E Boduch

Ramasubramanian Anand

Kenneth M Fisher

Hector Ayala

Robert D Gatze

Larry J DeeWaard, Ii

Larry Michael Wolfrum

Example embodiments are in a form of a system, corresponding electronics card (or apparatus), or corresponding method. Some embodiments include a multi-channel optical layer system. According to some embodiments, the system may include a network interface layer, an adapter layer, and an optical function layer. The adapter layer may learn functions and/or corresponding specifications from the function layer. The adapter layer may configure the adapter layer itself to interoperate between the network interface layer and the optical function layer. The adapter layer may provide flexibility in the size of configured functionality. The adapter layer may reduce cost of configuration (or reconfiguration) because functions may be discretized. New markets may be reached because of this reduced cost, as well as due to smaller size configurations (of hardware and software), reduced electronics, reduced power, and improved thermal cooling requirements for lesser-developed network configurations.

Method and apparatus for modular ROADM and remote DWDM wavelength add/drop

An intranodal reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer (ROADM) fiber management apparatus, and a system employing the apparatus. The apparatus comprises a plurality of ingress optical ports, a plurality of egress optical ports, and a plurality of optical interconnections interposed between ones of the plurality of ingress optical ports and ones of the plurality of egress optical ports. Each of the plurality of ingress optical ports corresponds to one of the plurality of egress optical ports. Each one of the plurality of ingress optical ports is optically coupled by way of the optical interconnections to at least one of the plurality of egress optical ports. Each one of the plurality of egress optical ports is optically coupled by way of the optical interconnections to at least one of the plurality of ingress optical ports.

Intranodal ROADM fiber management apparatuses, systems, and methods

Method and apparatus of an optical routing system ('ORS') capable of automatically discovering intra-nodal fiber connections using a test channel transceiver ('TCT') are disclosed. ORS, in one embodiment, includes a set of reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer (&#x201c;ROADM&#x201d;) modules, intra-nodal fiber connections, add-drop modules, and a test module. The ROADM modules are able to transmit or receive optical signals via optical fibers. The intra-nodal fiber connections are configured to provide optical connections. The add-drop modules are able to selectively make connections between input ports and output ports. The test module containing TCT is configured to identify at least a portion of intra-nodal connections of the ROADM via a test signal operating with a unique optical frequency.

Methods and apparatus for providing configuration discovery using intra-nodal test channel

The disclosed methods, apparatus, and systems allow safe and easy deployment of amplifier products that exceed laser safe limits without the need for fiber testing and characterization or OTDR techniques. One example embodiment is a method for ensuring eye safety in an optical network. The example method includes detecting optical connectivity between an output of a transmit amplifier and a passive optical processing element. The transmit amplifier is located at a first network node and is configured to output optical power greater than eye-safe level. The passive optical processing element is located at a second network node and is configured to guarantee a reduction of a maximum optical power level at an output side of the passive optical processing element to an eye-safe optical level. The detecting occurs at the first network node, and the transmit amplifier is enabled or disabled as a function of detection of the optical connectivity.

Laser safety in data centers and other remote sites

Example embodiments include an optical networking system (e.g., apparatus) and corresponding method. According to some embodiments, a plurality of shelves may be interconnected to form a daisy chain, each shelf including unpowered passive optical modules and the daisy chain including an active module having a passive power communication source. The passive power communication source may distribute passive power to memory devices on the one unpowered passive optical networking modules. The memory devices may provide respective communication as a function of interconnections of the daisy chain and passive power distributed by the passive power communication source. Advantages include unique identification of the memory devices without requiring active power to their corresponding modules, and continuous discovery and inventory of such memory devices. Such embodiments may also help network planners better manage and end-to-end optical circuit which may reduce amplification or regeneration nodes creating a more cost efficient solution.

Apparatus and method for inventory of passive module

A method for routing C-band and L-band optical signals, and a system, apparatus, and computer program that operate in accordance with the method. The method comprises selecting one or more C-band optical signals using one or more C-band components, resulting in one or more selected C-band optical signals. One or more L-band optical signals are selected using one or more L-band components, resulting in one or more selected L-band optical signals. The selected C-band and L-band optical signals are combined.

Reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer network element for C-band and L-band optical signals

Current optical networks are engineered to handle amplifier noise and chromatic dispersion. Polarization mode dispersion occurs in optical networks due splitting of the light energy of a pulse propagating in a fiber into two modes. Compensating for polarization mode dispersion is a difficult and expensive task and hence only few commercial systems have been deployed to deal with this issue. A polarization mode dispersion compensation module according to an example embodiment of the present invention compensates for polarization mode dispersion by determining a performance metric related to an error rate of an optical signal in at least one polarization mode in a filtered state. Based on the performance metric, a control vector is determined to control the optical signal in the at least one polarization mode in the filtered state. The control vector is then applied to a polarization effecting device to compensate for polarization mode dispersion.

Method and apparatus for compensating for polarization mode dispersion (PMD)

A reconfigurable optical add drop multiplexer (ROADM) includes local interfaces at which optical signals of different wavelengths are locally input into the ROADM, and a network interface configured to connect the ROADM to a network from which multiplexed optical signals of different wavelengths are transmitted to the network. In a first configuration, the ROADM is configured to transmit from the network interface to the network multiplexed signals of different wavelengths having a first minimum frequency difference. In a second configuration, the ROADM is configured to transmit from the network interface to the network multiplexed signals of different wavelengths having a second minimum frequency difference. The second minimum frequency difference is greater than the first minimum frequency difference. This arrangement reduces the power of four wave mixing cross products produced when optical signals of three wavelengths are multiplexed and transmitted from the ROADM to NZDSF or DSF fiber types.

Reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer and procedure for outputting optical signals from such multiplexer

Signals propagating in wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) optical networks suffer from loss, which decreases optical signal-to-noise ratios (OSNRs) and degrades a quality of received transmissions. Present methods of boosting OSNRs involve regeneration using transponders, which scale in complexity with the number of WDM channels. Optical amplifiers may boost signal strength, but amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) noise often reduces OSNR despite increases in signal strength, although changing the amplifier operating settings may reduce emitted ASE noise power. A method or corresponding apparatus in an example embodiment of the present invention provides a planning tool for deploying optical amplifiers in an optical network in a manner that reduces the need for optical regeneration, reducing cost and complexity of the deployed network. In one embodiment, the disclosed planning tool may substitute models of high-gain amplifiers operating at low settings for models of low-gain amplifiers operating at high settings.

Method and apparatus for reducing cost of optical amplification in a network

An embodiment of the invention comprises determining a gain tilt based on power measurements from a power measurement block, determining a noise figure penalty based on the gain tilt, determining a gain tilt compensation to compensate for the gain tilt taking into account the noise figure penalty, and communicating the gain tilt compensation to an amplifier block to apply the gain tilt compensation to subsequently received wavelengths.

Method and apparatus for gain tilt compensation over fiber optic cable

Increasing data rates in next-generation optical networks requires a change in the type of optical modulation used to encode optical signals carried by the optical networks. Different types of optical modulation incur different optical impairments, which may degrade the fidelity of the optical signals by reducing the optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR). A method or corresponding apparatus in an example embodiment of the present invention provides a planning tool for deploying an optical network in a manner based on the optical modulation that reduces the cost and complexity of the deployed network. In one embodiment, the disclosed planning tool may adjust a model of the optical network to be deployed by changing the topology and/or the number and/or type of optical network elements in response to optical impairments for a given optical modulation.

OSNR model for optical engineering rules used in a planning tool

High optical communication rates are making their way into networks initially designed for 10 Gigabits per seconds (Gbps). These higher rates of 40 Gbps and higher have shorter signaling periods and are more susceptible to differential group delay (DGD). A method and corresponding apparatus in an example embodiment of the present invention compensates for polarization state sensitivity of a receiver by determining a performance metric relating to an error rate due to transmission and reception of a modulated optical signal in a medium introducing DGD. Based on the performance metric, a control vector is determined to control a polarization state of the modulated optical signal. The control vector is applied to a polarization effecting device to compensate for the DGD and the polarization state sensitivity of the receiver. Communication rates of 40 Gbps and higher can be used in transmission mediums that introduce DGD through use of embodiments presented.

Growing community of inventors

Naperville, IL, United States of America

Julia Y Larikova