System and method for mitigating cross-saturation in optically amplified networks
US5907420A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 13, 1996 |
| Grant date | May 25, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 13, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04J14/0221
- WIPO fieldTelecommunications
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A system and method of protecting all the amplifiers in a link between wavelength routing network elements of an optical network. According to the invention, an optical control channel is added before a plurality of optical amplifier, preferably the first amplifier, in a link. To prevent improper loading of downstream links, the control channel is stripped off at the next wavelength routing network element. The power of the control channel is automatically adjusted using a fast feedback circuit to hold substantially constant the total power of the signal channels and the control channel at the input of the first amplifier following the feedback loop. In this manner, channel loading of all optical amplifiers in the link is maintained substantially constant, and the incidence of error bursts, as might otherwise result when one or more channels are added or dropped due to a network fault or reconfiguration, is substantially reduced.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.