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:
Jan. 07, 2003
Filed:
Nov. 14, 2001
Pavel G. Polynkin, Fremont, CA (US);
Jeffrey P. Wilde, Morgan Hill, CA (US);
Michael J. Timmons, San Bruno, CA (US);
Capella Photonics, Inc., San Jose, CA (US);
Abstract
This invention provides a spectral power monitoring apparatus that uses a diffraction grating to separate a multi-wavelength optical signal along with a reference signal by wavelength into multiple spectral channels and a reference spectral component having a predetermined relative alignment, impinging onto an array of optical power sensors. The optical power sensor array may be configured such that the power levels of the spectral channels impinging onto the optical power sensor array can be related to the electrical signals thus produced by a predetermined conversion matrix. The spectral power monitoring apparatus of the present invention further includes an alignment compensation unit, which monitors the real-time impinging position of the reference spectral component and ensures that the corresponding conversion matrix is used for converting the measured electrical signals to the optical power levels of interest. The spectral power monitoring apparatus of the present invention is well suited for optical networking applications.