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:
Aug. 15, 2006
Filed:
May. 13, 2002
Charles W. Haggans, Clarksville, MD (US);
Jun Bao, Ellicott City, MD (US);
Harshad Sardesai, Ellicott City, MD (US);
Michael Y. Frankel, Baltimore, MD (US);
Mahir Nayfeh, Catonsville, MD (US);
Balakrishnan Sridhar, Ellicott City, MD (US);
Vipul Bhatnagar, Kensington, MD (US);
Charles W. Haggans, Clarksville, MD (US);
Jun Bao, Ellicott City, MD (US);
Harshad Sardesai, Ellicott City, MD (US);
Michael Y. Frankel, Baltimore, MD (US);
Mahir Nayfeh, Catonsville, MD (US);
Balakrishnan Sridhar, Ellicott City, MD (US);
Vipul Bhatnagar, Kensington, MD (US);
Ciena Corporation, Linthicum, MD (US);
Abstract
An optical communication device, and related method, are provided for reducing ripple in WDM systems. In particular, the optical communication device includes a dynamic gain equalization (DGE) circuit is coupled to an optical communication path carrying the WDM optical signals. The DGE circuit adjusts the powers associated with each channel on a channel-by-channel basis so that the WDM optical signal has a desired power spectrum. The DGE is controlled in response to sense signals generated by an optical performance monitoring (OPM) circuit located downstream from the DGE or substantially co-located with the DGE. The OPM monitors the WDM spectrum for optical signal power variations and outputs the sense signal when the variations fall outside a given tolerance. Typically, one DGE is associated with a group of concatenated amplifiers so that multiple DGEs are provided in a system having many groups of such amplifiers. Likewise, multiple OPMs are provided in such systems, each corresponding to a respective DGE, so that ripple can be reduced and desired WDM optical signal powers can be achieved in the WDM system.