Wavelength-addressable optical time-delay network and phased array antenna incorporating the same
US5761351A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 15, 1996 |
| Grant date | Jun 2, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 15, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02B6/2861
- WIPO fieldTelecommunications
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An optical switch network which includes a plurality N of cascaded optical switching stages, each mth one of the switching stages including 2.sup.m-1 Mach-Zehnder interferometers, where m=1 through N. The input port of the Mach-Zehnder interferometer of a first one of the optical switching stages receives an optical input signal, and the 2.sup.N-1 Mach-Zehnder interferometers of the Nth one of the optical switching stages provide a total of 2.sup.N output ports. Each of the Mach-Zehnder interferometers is preferably an unbalanced Mach-Zehnder interferometer, and the optical input signal preferably has a wavelength which is a selected one of 2.sup.N selectable wavelengths. The plurality N of cascaded optical switching stages provide 2.sup.N possible optical paths, whereby the optical input signal is automatically routed along a selected one of the 2.sup.N possible optical paths in dependence upon its selected wavelength. Also disclosed is an optical time delay network comprised of an optical switch network as described above, and a plurality 2.sup.N of optical delay lines of different lengths coupled to respective ones of the 2.sup.N output ports of the Nth one of the optical switch…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.