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 |
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.
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