US 7,321,704 B2
Wavelength cross connect with per port performance characteristics
Thomas Ducellier, Ottawa (Canada); Alan Hnatiw, Stittsville (Canada); Puja Sehgal, La Salle (Canada); and Eliseo Ranalli, Irvine, Calif. (US)
Assigned to JDS Uniphase Corporation, Milpitas, Calif. (US)
Filed on Jul. 10, 2006, as Appl. No. 11/483,106.
Claims priority of provisional application 60/697385, filed on Jul. 08, 2005.
Prior Publication US 2007/0009204 A1, Jan. 11, 2007
Int. Cl. G02B 6/42 (2006.01)
U.S. Cl. 385—15  [385/16; 385/17; 385/18; 385/19; 398/79; 398/82; 398/83; 398/84] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A wavelength cross connect comprising:
at least one waveguide device;
at least one input port, each input port for launching an input optical signal including at least one wavelength channel into the at least one waveguide device;
for each input port, a respective input dispersive arrangement, including an arrayed waveguide grating for dispersing the input optical signals out of the at least one waveguide device according to wavelength;
a plurality of output ports for outputting selected wavelength channels from the at least one waveguide device;
for each output port, a respective output dispersive arrangement, including an arrayed waveguide grating, that multiplexes any wavelength channels re-directed towards the respective output dispersive arrangement; and
a plurality of routing elements separate from the at least one waveguide device for re-directing wavelength channels between the at least one input dispersive arrangement and any one of the plurality of output dispersive arrangements;
wherein at least two of the output ports are configured to have differing performances through selection of respective dispersive arrangements having differing characteristics; and
wherein the differing characteristics are selected from the group consisting of: arrayed waveguide gratings having at least two different path length differences; arrayed waveguide gratings having at least two different waveguide spacings in a waveguide array output facet; arrayed waveguide gratings having at least two differing numbers of waveguides lit; and slab waveguides that truncate a beam emitted in a front slab region in a dispersive arrangement so that only a central portion of the beam couples to the arrayed waveguide grating.