Cascading optical multiplexing device
US6167171A · kind A · utility
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 26, 1998 |
| Grant date | Dec 26, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 26, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04J14/03
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An optical multiplexing device is provided comprising multiple wavelength division multiplexers cascaded together. A first one of the wavelength division multiplexers has a common port and multiple optical ports which are optically coupled to the common port. The common port may be optically coupled to a trunk line of a system employing wavelength division multiplexing, for example, a fiber-optic telecommunication system employing 4, 8, 16 or other number of multiplexed channels. The optical ports include multiple channel ports, each of which is transparent to a corresponding wavelength sub-range and reflective of other wavelengths. The second wavelength division multiplexer has a common port optically coupled to one of the optical ports of the first wavelength division multiplexer. The second wavelength division multiplexer also has multiple optical ports which are optically coupled to its common port and include multiple wavelength-selective channel ports. A waveguide, such as a fiber-optic line, can optically connect the common port of the second wavelength division multiplexer to an optical port of the first wavelength division multiplexer. The cascaded WDMs each may be optical…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.