Optical wavelength selective router

US8078019B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Oclaro (New Jersey), Inc. · US

Inventors

• Gil Cohen · Jerusalem, IL
• Seong Woo Suh · Budd Lake, US
• Yossi Corem · Bet Shemesh, IL

Key dates

• Filing date: Oct 25, 2010
• Grant date: Dec 13, 2011
• Expiry date: Oct 25, 2030

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H04Q2011/0035
• WIPO field: Optics
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

A fiber-optical, wavelength selective switch, especially for channel routing with equalization and blocking applications. The input signals are converted to light beams having predefined polarizations (41). The beams are then laterally expanded (43), and then undergo spatial dispersion in the beam expansion plane. The different wavelength components are directed through a polarization rotation device, pixilated along the wavelength dispersion direction such that each pixel operates on a separate wavelength. Each beam is passed into a pixilated beam steering array (48), for directing each wavelength to a desired output port. The beam steering devices can be MEMS-based or Liquid crystal-based, or an LCOS array. When the appropriate voltage is applied to a pixel and its associated beam steering element, the polarization of the light passing through the pixel is rotated and the beam steered to couple to the selected output port.