International Business Machines Corporation

Michael William Marlowe

Stephen J Ames

Christopher Keith White

Clint Lee Schow

William K Hogan

John Farley Ewen

Kenneth Paul Jackson

A switchable bandwidth optical receiver is implemented in a front-end of the receiver in at least one of three ways. A switchable impedance may be provided at the input to a preamplifier of the front end, the preamplifier of the front-end may have a switchable impedance therein, and/or a switchable filter may be provided at an output of the preamplifier.

Switchable-bandwidth optical receiver

An apparatus, program product and method enable a host system to read a signal or signals that are proportional to the output power and/or the bias of a laser in a fiber optic link connected to that host system without breaking that link. By reading one or more of these signals and being aware of the laser characteristics, the &ldquo;health&rdquo; of the laser is known and the integrity of the link is maintained. Consequently, the host system has a predictive tool which is able identify substandard lasers and replace them before a serious, and potentially costly, data disruption occurs.

Laser diode monitoring via current mirroring

An apparatus, circuit arrangement and method enable a host system to read a signal that is proportional to the peak-to-peak optical power incident on a transceiver at one end of a fiber optic link without breaking that link. By reading this signal and being aware of the characteristics of the laser, the &ldquo;health&rdquo; of the laser is known and the integrity of the link is maintained. Consequently, the host system has a predictive tool that is able identify substandard lasers so that such lasers can be replaced before serious, and potentially costly, data disruptions occur.

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Rochester, MN, United States of America

Michael William Marlowe