Diffractive fourier optics for optical communications
US6795182B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 3, 2002 |
| Grant date | Sep 21, 2004 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 16, 2022 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02B6/2793
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
Systems and methods for modifying, switching, rearranging or otherwise controlling the individual wavelength components of DWDM optical signals are described, which employ compact refolding and reshaping of these dimensionally patterned beams within a confined volume. The wavelength components of the beam are diffractively dispersed with high diffraction efficiency, and then reversely converged to beam waists incident on different ones of an array of control elements such as liquid crystal cells, MEMs and other spatial light modulators, or fixed distributed patterns. With reflective control elements the wavelength components may be reversely refolded along reciprocal paths with rediffraction, to form a reconstituted and revised DWDM output signal. If the control elements transmit at least one of the wavelength components, a separate, adjacent three dimensional beam refolding path, with rediffraction, is used to feed recombined signals to a separate output. High diffraction efficiency and minimal optical aberrations are achieved by employing a diffraction grating and opposed Mangin mirror system as the principal elements for beam refolding. The approach is useful in systems servicin…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.