WDM router

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10425706-B2
Application number	US-201113031227-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 20, 2011
Priority date	Aug 15, 2002
Publication date	Sep 24, 2019
Grant date	Sep 24, 2019

Abstract

The present invention provides a mixed analog and digital chip-scale reconfigurable WDM network. The network suitably includes a router that enables rapidly configurable wavelength selective routers of fiber optic data. The router suitably incorporates photonic wavelength selective optical add/drop filters and multiplexers.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A WDM router comprising:
a programmable wavelength filter resonator disposed on a single semiconductor chip for changing paths of different wavelength channels of light, the resonator including dynamically programmable wavelength filter photonic crystal resonator components; and
a device disposed on the single semiconductor chip for cross-connecting selected wavelengths of light output by the programmable wavelength filter resonator to selected outputs of the router.

2. The WDM router of claim 1 , wherein the resonator components include a tunable wavelength filter photonic crystal; wherein the photonic crystal includes defects made of electro-optic polymers; and wherein index of refraction of a defect is changed by subjecting the electro-optical polymer to an electrical voltage, whereby the wavelength filter resonator is dynamically programmable.

3. The WDM router of claim 2 , wherein the wavelength filter resonator includes a photonic crystal resonator having tuned wavelength filter resonant cavities in optically thin slabs.

4. The WDM router of claim 1 , wherein the wavelength filter photonic crystal resonator components are wavelength tunable by changing index of photonic crystal defect to change effective cavity length.

5. The WDM router of claim 1 , wherein the cross-connect device includes a passive superprism.

6. A WDM router comprising:
a programmable wavelength filter resonator for changing paths of different wavelength channels of light, the resonator including a Q-tunable active layer on top of a passive ring waveguide; and
a device for cross-connecting selected wavelengths output by the programmable wavelength filter resonator to selected outputs of the router.

7. The WDM router of claim 6 , wherein an evanescent optical field of the passive ring waveguide overlaps the active layer.

8. A WDM router comprising a chip, the chip including a programmable wavelength filter resonator for changing paths of different wavelength channels of light, and a device for cross-connecting selected wavelengths to selected outputs, the resonator including at least one of dynamically programmable wavelength filter photonic crystal resonator components and dynamically programmable wavelength filter ring resonator components including Q-tunable optically active layers on top of passive ring waveguides.

Assignees

• Krug William P
• Hager Harold
• Hamilton Michael C
• Scherer Axel
• Boeing Co

Inventors

• Krug William P
• Hager Harold
• Hamilton Michael C
• Scherer Axel

Classifications

• H04Q2011/0016

  using wavelength multiplexing or demultiplexing · CPC title

• G02B6/356

  in an optical cross-connect device, e.g. routing and switching aspects of interconnecting different paths propagating different wavelengths to (re)configure the various input and output links (switching polarized beams G02B6/3594; power equalizers G02B6/356 and G02B6/3594; path selecting means H04Q11/0001) · CPC title

• B82Y20/00

  Nanooptics, e.g. quantum optics or photonic crystals · CPC title

• H04J14/0226

  Fixed carrier allocation, e.g. according to service · CPC title

• H04J14/0252

  Sharing one wavelength for at least a group of ONUs, e.g. for transmissions from-ONU-to-OLT or from-ONU-to-ONU · CPC title