The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 07, 2002
Filed:
Mar. 09, 1999
David Alan Ackerman, Hopewell, NJ (US);
Scott L. Broutin, Kutztown, PA (US);
James Kevin Plourde, Allentown, PA (US);
George John Przybylek, Douglassville, PA (US);
John William Stayt, Jr., Schnecksville, PA (US);
Agere Systems Guardian Corp., Orlando, FL (US);
Abstract
A method and apparatus for stabilizing the wavelength of a laser are disclosed. The invention provides a way to stabilize a laser for applications in dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) systems where frequency spacing is crucial. The invention accomplishes laser stabilization by generating an optical path which is passed through a filter to obtain a signal which is a function of frequency. A second optical path which does not contain a filter is generated to obtain a signal which is a function of power. The signals are then converted from optical to electrical and from analog to digital, and a microcontroller is used to normalize the frequency path with respect to the optical power path, process the signals via software code, and generate a signal which provides feedback to the laser for stabilization. By using a microcontroller; elements that lead to wavelength or frequency drift, or manufacturing component variations can be taken into account and the input signal to the laser can be adjusted accordingly.