Jds Uniphase Corporation

Jds Fitel Inc.

Other

Rajiv Iyer

Thomas Ducellier

Mark Farries

Nigel Copner

Adam D Cohen

Paul Colbourne

Barrie P Keyworth

Robert I MacDonald

Jacques Bismuth

Neil Teitelbaum

Richard D Habel

Claude Rolland

Andrew Tsiboulia

Michael Trzecieski

An optical beam path directing system has a field-flattening optically transmissive wedge installed in spatially dispersed beam paths upstream of the planar surface of a micro electro-mechanical switch (MEMS) or liquid crystal array. The parameters of the field-flattening wedge and its location in the diffracted beam paths are defined such that the wedge effectively rotates a 'best fit' planar surface approximation of the curvilinear focal plane of a concave reflector into coplanar coincidence with the optical signal-receiving surface of the MEMS. As a result, loss variation is essentially flat and minimized across the optical signal transmission band.

Device for imposing a field tilt for approximating the inherent field curvature of a focusing element in a free space optical device

A control system is designed to control an optical cross-connect having a switch core defined by first and second independently movable beam deflectors capable of selectively defining an optical path between a pair of ports of the optical cross-connect. An optical element having optical power is arranged in a propagation path of light beams between the first and second beam deflectors. The control system includes a pilot light source, an optical sensor associated with each beam deflector, and a feedback path. The a pilot light source inserts a pilot light into the switch core colinearly with live traffic. The optical sensor detects a predetermined geometric property of the pilot light emerging from the switch core. This predetermined geometric property is unambiguously associated with an angular position of the associated beam deflector. The feedback path actively controls a position of the associated beam deflector based on the detected geometric property.

Control system for optical cross-connect switches

An optical device comprises a dispersion element, a reflector, and an angle-to-offset (ATO) element. The angle-to-offset (ATO) element has optical power. The dispersion element is positioned in or near a focal plane of the ATO element and adapted to separate an input wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) light beam received from an input port of the optical device into two or more channel light beams. The reflector is positioned in or near a focal plane of the ATO element and arranged to receive the channel light beams from the dispersion element via the ATO element. The reflector is designed to reflect at least one of the channel light beams toward a respective output port of the optical device. With this arrangement, the dispersion element, reflector and ATO element cooperate to optically demultiplex the input WDM light beam. Additional optical elements arranged in the propagation path between the reflector and the output port(s) and/or between the input port and the dispersion element can be used to provide further optical signal processing functionality such as dynamic channel equalization, add drop, or wavelength switching.

Wavelength-dependent optical signal processing using an angle-to-offset module

A 1&frac12;&times;2 optical switch has two GRIN lenses, each lens having two ports on its respective outward end face. The switch has a transmissive wedge-shaped switching element disposed between the GRIN lenses. When the switching element is disposed in the path between the GRIN lenses, a single connection is established between a port of the first GRIN lens and a port of the second GRIN lens, while light is prevented from coupling between the remaining ports.

1&frac12;&times;2 optical switch with a transmissive switching element

The invention provides an optical switch having an input port for launching a beam of light into the optical switch, at least two output ports, each output port for selectively receiving a beam of light, an ATO element having optical power for providing an angle to offset transformation, and beam directing means for selectively directing a beam of light from the input port to a selected one of the at least two output ports along an optical path via the ATO element. The ATO element is a lens or a mirror.

Optical switch

An optical switch is disclosed having 4-ports. The switch consists of a first GRIN lens having 2 ports adjacent its outwardly facing end face. A second GRIN lens is disposed to receive light from the first GRIN lens and has two ports adjacent its outer end face. In a first state, a first port from the first GRIN lens couples light with a first output port of the second GRIN lens. In a second state, a movable optical element in the form of a light transmissive wedge having a reflective surface, is disposed in the path between first and second GRIN lens, providing a connection between a port of the first GRIN lens and a second port of the second GRIN lens. In a third connect state, the reflective surface of the wedge connects a port of the first GRIN lens and an output port in the same first GRIN lens. Hence an N&times;M optical switch is disclosed.

N x M optical switch

Broad wavelength tuning range are achieved in an effectively reset-free, optical, automatic polarization controller by providing a device and method for varying the polarization of an input beam of light. A block of electro-optic material has two pairs of electrodes for applying a voltage across the block. Light is launched into an input end of the block for receiving the input beam of light. A controller controls a quadrature voltage applied to the first and a second pair of electrodes; the quadrature voltage has the form of a magnitude and an angle. The quadrature voltage can be varied in such a manner as to orient a given electric field within the electro-optic material through a plurality of angles, for example between 0 and 2&pgr; radians; the magnitude of the quadrature voltage can be set to create an arbitrary retardance from 0 to 2&pgr;. Any output polarization state can be realized by appropriately varying the magnitude and angle of the voltage applied to the Vx and Vy electrodes.

Method and device for controlling the polarization of a beam of light

An add-drop optical circuit is provided comprising: a first multiplex/demultiplexer for demultiplexing a composite optical signal having a plurality of channels, a second multiplex/demultiplexer for multiplexing a plurality of signals into a composite optical signal; waveguides disposed between the first demultiplexer and the second multiplexer/demultiplexer; and a plurality of 11/2.times.2 optical switches coupled to at least some of the waveguides for adding and dropping optical signals, the optical switches substantially preventing optical signals from propagating from an add port to drop port.

11/2.times.2 optical switch

A 1.times.n optical deflection switch has an array of k transmissive light deflectors to switch an incident light beam into one of n=2.sup.k directions. The switch can steer the light through the deflectors into one of a plurality of beam directions, by selectively individually inserting them into the light path. One embodiment uses four glass rectangular blocks as light deflectors having parallel upper and lower surfaces oriented at a predetermined oblique angle to the incident light beam. The thicknesses of the blocks follow an increasing order in proportion to successive powers of 2, i.e. t, 2t, 4t and 8t, giving a total of 16 switching positions. Another embodiment uses two arrays of 4-block switches, and selectively activates blocks from either array to provide a 1.times.32 switch. Yet, another embodiment uses four stepped deflectors each having two selectable sections of dissimilar thicknesses to give a total of 15 switching positions.

Growing community of inventors

Ottawa, Canada

Rajiv Iyer