Other

Reveo, Inc.

Petacomm, Inc.

Seungug Koh

Sadeg Mustafa Faris

Danjin Wu

As the traffic volume carried by telecommunication networks has been rapidly increased as a result of the bandwidth-intensive applications such as Internet access, electronic commerce, multimedia applications, and distributed computing, it is imperative to utilize the optical network for backbone, metropolitan, and local area networks. The optical networks employing optical fibers as the transmission medium have exhibited a superior performance/cost ratio for both long-haul and short-haul routes and the emerging dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM)/all-optical networks have shown a promising potential to improve speed, capacity and connectivity of optical telecommunication networks. The present invention provides Micro-Opto-Electro-Mechanical Waveguide Switch (MOEM-WS) by integrating MEMS actuators and micromachined PLCs on the same substrate. The MOEM-WS is an integrated hybrid microsystem: Micro-Opto-Electro-Mechanical System (MOEMS) and it is particularly applicable for optical cross-connect (OXC) switches and optical add/drop multiplexers (OADM). The MOEM-WS can provide an essential fiber switching capability for DWDM/all-optical networks with numerous accompanying benefits such as low cost, small crosstalk, reliability, compactness, high speed, reconfigurability, modularity, scalability, and insensitiveness to signal wavelength and polarization.

Micro-opto-electro-mechanical waveguide switches

A 1XN (or NX1) optical connector for steering light is provided, which may be formed into an optical cross connecter. The optical connector generally includes a plurality of N stages, each stage including a liquid crystal cell and a polarizing beam splitter. The liquid crystal cell, in certain embodiments in the form of an array of LC cells, has a first state for transmitting a first polarization component of the light and a second state for transmitting a second polarization component of the light. The polarizing beam splitter structure reflects one of the polarization states and transmits the other polarization state into one of 2outputs. Of course, the direction of light can be reversed, forming an NX1 cell. A key advantage of the present invention is the integration of components to form a monolithic structure.

Scalable and mass-manufacturable OXC using liquid crystal cells

Variable optical delay (VOD) systems are provided that include optical switching techniques, and optical manifold techniques, and/or index switching techniques. In certain embodiments, liquid crystal cells are used to impart fine delay in a VOD system. Medium delay may be provided with index switching systems. Course delay may be provided with total-internal-reflection or polarization based optical manifold systems, or micro-fluidic based optical manifold systems. These fine, medium and course delays may be integrated in a single VOD system to provide a wide range and high resolution delay.

Wide-range and high-resolution variable optical delay

Since the bandwidth-intensive applications such as Internet access, electronic commerce, multimedia applications, and distributed computing are rapidly increasing the volume of telecommunication traffics, optical networks become an essential backbone of telecommunication networks. The optical networks have shown a superior performance/cost ratio for both long-haul and short-haul routes and the emerging dense wavelength division multiplexing and all-optical network technologies have promised a potential to improve speed, capacity and connectivity of telecommunication networks. The present invention provides a multifunctional intelligent optical module (IOM) by integrating a multitude of photonic, electronic, and micro mechanical elements into a single module. The multifunctional IOM is an integrated hybrid microsystem and it applicable to fast network provisioning, reliable protection switching, instant fault detection/correction, guaranteed quality-of-service, accurate optical performance monitoring, and efficient optical transmission engineering.

Multifunctional intelligent optical modules based on planar lightwave circuits

Over the last several years, the rapidly increasing traffic volume carried by telecommunication networks has been clearly observed as a result of the bandwidth-intensive applications such as Internet access, electronic commerce, multimedia applications, and distributed computing. Optical telecommunication systems employing optical fibers as the transmission medium have exhibited a superior performance/cost ratio for both long-haul and short-haul routes and the emerging dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM)/all-optical networks have shown some promising potentials. However there still exists a need to improve speed, capacity and connectivity of optical telecommunication networks, as the information system's subscriber growth increases unrestrained. The present invention provides a reconfigurable and scalable fiber optic switching for optical telecommunication networks by integrating MEMS actuators and PLCs for optical signal switching and routing. The integrated optic waveguide switches and optical cross-connect networks are particularly applicable for DWDM/all-optical networks due to its low cost, small crosstalk, reliable, compact, reconfigurable, modular, scalable, and wavelength/polarization insensitive characteristics. The integrated optic waveguide switch can be configured into a variety of all-optical network component such as Add/Drop switch, optical cross-connect switch array, and Add/Drop DWDM filter by combining MEMS actuators and PLC networks into an integrated hybrid microsystem: Micro-Opto-Electro-Mechanical System (MOEMS).

Reconfigurable and scalable intergrated optic waveguide add/drop multiplexing element using micro-opto-electro-mechanical systems and methods of fabricating thereof

Optoelectronic interconnections can provide a practical solution for the ever increasing communication bottleneck problems when combining a multitude of information processing units to perform a function. As research activities progress in the field of serial or parallel board-to-board and module-to-module interconnections, some of the research focus has shifted to smaller physical dimensions, like intra-module interconnections, which combines optoelectronic interconnections, multichip module packaging, and microelectromechanical system (MEMS) technologies at the module level. The present invention provides integrated optical input/output (I/O) couplers on multichip modules (MCMs) using micro-machined silicon mirrors that are used with optoelectronic multichip modules (OE-MCMs). The present invention used microstructures that integrate optical waveguide networks, multilayer electrical transmission line networks, micro-machined silicon mirrors, and C4-bonded photonic devices into a single structure. Using both sides of the silicon wafers, multiple metal layers and optical waveguide layers are fabricated for all types of metal or optical waveguide materials. The input/output coupling arrangement utilizes a combination of micro-machined silicon mirrors and through-holes across OE-MCM, integrated together into a single package. Fabrication strategies and possible applications of the invention are disclosed herein.

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Sunnyvale, CA, United States of America

Seungug Koh