Redundancy improvement in semiconductor-based optical communication systems

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11211775-B2
Application number	US-201916540743-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 14, 2019
Priority date	Aug 14, 2019
Publication date	Dec 28, 2021
Grant date	Dec 28, 2021

Abstract

Techniques for improving redundancy in semiconductor-based optical communication systems are provided. For example, two or more semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs) may be provided in an optical repeater, and each SOA may form a respective amplification path. When failure occurs on a first SOA, a second SOA that is different from the first SOA can be selected. In one example, the selection may be based on wavelength division multiplexing (WDM), and in another example, the selection may be based on optical switching. The two or more SOAs (and other optical components) may be integrated in the same substrate package.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus comprising:
wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) circuitry;
a first semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA), wherein the first SOA corresponds to a first operation wavelength; and
a second SOA, wherein the second SOA corresponds to a second operation wavelength, and
wherein the WDM circuitry is configured to:
(i) receive an optical signal at the first operation wavelength and provide the received optical signal to the first SOA for amplifying the optical signal, wherein reception of the optical signal at the first operation wavelength is based on a selection of the first operation wavelength, at a transmitter, in response to an instruction from at least one processor that a failure has occurred at the second SOA, or
(ii) receive the optical signal at the second operation wavelength and
provide the received optical signal to the second SOA for amplifying the optical signal, wherein reception of the optical signal at the second operation wavelength is based on a selection of the second operation wavelength, at the transmitter, in response to an instruction from the at least one processor that a failure has occurred at the first SOA.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:
a third SOA, wherein the third SOA is configured to operate at a third operation wavelength, and
wherein the WDM circuitry is further configured to: (i) receive the optical signal at the third operation wavelength and (ii) provide the received optical signal to the third SOA for amplifying the optical signal.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein (i) the first SOA is turned on and the second SOA is turned off when the first SOA amplifies the optical signal or (ii) the second SOA is turned on and the first SOA is turned off when the second SOA amplifies the optical signal.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the determination of whether the failure has occurred at the first or second SOA comprises the at least one processor further configured to determine whether the first or second SOA is in a failure mode or no current is being applied or drawn.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the apparatus is an optical repeater.

6. A substrate package comprising:
at least one optical combiner;
at least one optical switch;
a first semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) coupled to the at least one optical combiner and the at least one optical switch; and
a second SOA coupled to the at least one optical combiner and the at least one optical switch, and
wherein the at least one optical combiner, the at least one optical switch, the first SOA, and the second SOA are integrated in the substrate package, and
wherein the at least one optical switch is configured to receive an optical signal from the at least one optical combiner and provide the optical signal to the first SOA or the second SOA for amplifying the optical signal.

7. The substrate package of claim 6 , wherein the integration of the at least one optical combiner, the at least one optical switch, the first SOA, and the second SOA is performed via photonics integration, the photonics integration including one or more of the following: (i) InP integration, (ii) Si integration, (iii) Ge—Si integration, and (iv) heterogenous integration.

8. The substrate package of claim 6 , wherein the at least one optical combiner is a polarization beam combiner and the at least one optical switch is an active polarization rotator.

9. The substrate package of claim 6 , wherein the first SOA or the second SOA is selected for amplifying the optical signal by: (i) switching between the first SOA or the second SOA via the at least one optical switch and/or (ii) turning on or turning off the first SOA or the second SOA.

10. A method comprising:
transmitting an optical signal to an optical repeater, the optical repeater including at least a first semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) and a second SOA, wherein the first SOA amplifies the optical signal transmitted at a first operation wavelength;
determining, via at least one processor, that the first SOA in the optical repeater is not functional or is in failure mode;
selecting the second SOA by selecting, at a transmitter, a second operation wavelength associated with the second SOA in response to an instruction from the at least one processor that a failure has occurred at the first SOA; and
transmitting the optical signal at the second operation wavelength such that the second SOA amplifies the optical signal.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the selecting of the second SOA comprises transmitting the optical signal at the second operation wavelength via a wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) transmitter.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein the optical repeater includes a third SOA, and the method further comprising:
determining, via the at least one processor, that the second SOA in the optical repeater is not functional or is in failure mode;
selecting the third SOA by selecting, at the transmitter, a third operation wavelength associated with the third SOA in response to an instruction from the at least one processor that a failure has occurred at the second SOA; and
transmitting a third optical signal at the third operation wavelength such that the third SOA amplifies the third optical signal.

Assignees

• Subcom Llc

Inventors

• Foursa Dmitri G

Classifications

• H04J14/02

  Wavelength-division multiplex systems · CPC title

• H01S5/50 Primary

  Amplifier structures not provided for in groups H01S5/02 - H01S5/30 · CPC title

• H04B10/506

  Multiwavelength transmitters · CPC title

• H04J14/0215

  Architecture aspects · CPC title

• H04B10/29

  Repeaters · CPC title