Spare channels on photonic integrated circuits and in photonic integrated circuit modules and systems

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2019339468-A1
Application number	US-201815973261-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	May 7, 2018
Priority date	May 7, 2018
Publication date	Nov 7, 2019
Grant date	—

Abstract

Consistent with the present disclosure, one or more spare Widely Tunable Lasers (WTLs) are integrated on a PIC. In the event that a channel, including, for example, a laser, a modulator and a semiconductor optical amplifier in a transmitter or Tx PIC, or a laser, optical hybrid, and photodiodes, for example, in a receiver PIC (Rx PIC), includes one or more defective devices, a spare channel is selected that includes a widely tunable laser (WTL) which may be tuned to the wavelength associated with any of the channels on the PIC. Accordingly, the spare channel replaces the defective channel or the lowest performing channel and outputs modulated optical signals at the wavelength associated with the defective channel. Thus, even though a defective channel may be present, a die consistent with the present disclosure may still output or receive the desired channels because the spare channel replaces the defective channel. As a result, yields and minimum performance may improve compared to PICs that do not have a spare channel and manufacturing costs may be reduced. Alternatively, connections, such as fiber connections, may be made only to the operation or best performing channels.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . An apparatus, comprising:
a substrate; N channels provided on the substrate, each of which including a corresponding one of a first plurality of lasers, N being an integer; a spare channel provided on the substrate, the spare channel including a second laser that is widely tunable, collectively, the N channels and the spare channel being a set of channels; and N optical connections, each of which being coupled to a respective one of a plurality of active channels, the plurality of active channels being selected from the set of channels, such that each of the plurality of active channels supplies or receives a respective one of N modulated optical signals via a corresponding one of the N optical connections, wherein a remaining channel of the set of channels is not coupled to any of the N optical connections, the remaining channel being de-activated, such that the remaining channel does not supply or receive light that has been modulated to carry data.

2 . An apparatus in accordance with claim 1 , wherein each of the first plurality of lasers is widely tunable.

3 . An apparatus in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the second laser is tunable over the C-band.

4 . An apparatus in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the second laser is tunable over the L-band.

5 . An apparatus in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the second laser is tunable over the S-band.

6 . An apparatus in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the second laser is tunable over the E-band.

7 . An apparatus in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the second laser is tunable over the O-band.

8 . An apparatus in accordance with claim 2 , further including:
a first plurality of optical devices provided on the substrate; a second plurality of optical devices provided on the substrate; a third optical device provided on the substrate; and a fourth optical device provided on the substrate; N first couplers, each of which having an input being coupled to an output of a corresponding one of the first plurality of lasers, each of the N first couplers having a first output coupled to a corresponding one of the first plurality of optical devices and a second output coupled to a corresponding one of the second plurality of optical devices, each of the N first couplers being provided on the substrate; and a second coupler coupled to the second laser, the second coupler having an input coupled to an output of the second laser, and first and second outputs, the first output of the second coupler being coupled to the third optical device and the second output being coupled to the fourth optical device, the second optical coupler being provided on the substrate.

9 . An apparatus in accordance with claim 8 , wherein each of the first plurality of lasers has first and second outputs, the first output of each of a plurality of first lasers is coupled to a corresponding one of the plurality of first optical devices, the second laser has first and second outputs, the first output of the second laser is coupled to the second optical device, the apparatus further including:
a first plurality selectors provided on the substrate, the second output of each of the first plurality of lasers being coupled to a corresponding one of the first plurality selectors, each of the first plurality of selectors selectively supplying light from a respective one of the first plurality of lasers to a control circuit that monitors a wavelength of said light; and a second selector provided on the substrate, the second output of the second laser being coupled to the second selector, the second selector selectively supplying light from the second laser to the control circuit.

10 . An apparatus in accordance with claim 9 , wherein each of the first plurality of selectors and the second selector includes an optical amplitude adjusting device, the amplitude adjusting device including at least one of: a Mach-Zehnder interferometer, a variable optical attenuator (VOA), and a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA).

11 . An apparatus in accordance with claim 2 , wherein each of the first plurality of lasers has first and second outputs, the first output of each of the first plurality of lasers is coupled to a corresponding one of the first plurality of optical devices, and the second laser has first and second outputs, the first output of the second laser is coupled to a the second optical device, the apparatus further including:
a first plurality of taps provided on the substrate, each of the plurality of taps has an input coupled to a corresponding second output of each of the first plurality of lasers and first and second outputs, the first output being coupled to a corresponding one of the first plurality of optical devices; a second tap provided on the substrate, the second tap being coupled to the second output the second laser and first and second outputs, the first output of the second tap being coupled to the second optical device; a first plurality selectors provided on the substrate, the second output of each of the first plurality of taps being coupled to a corresponding one of the first plurality selectors, each of the first plurality of selectors selectively supplying light from a respective one of the first plurality of lasers to a control circuit that monitors a wavelength of said light; and a second selector provided on the substrate, the second output of the second tap being coupled to the second selector, the second selector selectively supplying light from the second laser to the control circuit.

12 . An apparatus, comprising:
a substrate; N channels provided on the substrate, each of which including a corresponding one of a first plurality of lasers and a corresponding one of a plurality of first optical devices, N being an integer; a spare channel provided on the substrate, the spare channel including a second laser, which is widely tunable; a second optical device provided on the substrate, the second optical device being coupled to a first output of the second laser, the second optical device having a first output and a second output; a third optical device provided on the substrate, the third optical device being coupled to a second output of the second laser, the third optical device having a first output and a second output; a first shutter provided on the substrate, the first shutter being coupled to the first output of the second optical device; a second shutter provided on the substrate, the second shutter being coupled to the second output of the second optical device; a third shutter provided on the substrate, the third shutter being coupled to the first output of the third optical device; a fourth shutter provided on the substrate, the fourth shutter being coupled to the second output of the third optical device; and first, second, third, and fourth multiplexers, each of which being coupled to a corresponding one of the first, second, third, and fourth shutters, the first, second, third, and fourth multiplexers being provided on the substrate.

13 . An apparatus in accordance with claim 12 , wherein each of the first, second, third, and fourth shutters includes an optical amplitude adjusting device, the optical amplitude adjusting device including at least one of: a Mach-Zehnder interferometer, a variable optical attenuator (VOA), and a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA).

14 . An apparatus, comprising:
a substrate; N channels, each of which including a corresponding one of N first lasers tunable over a C-band and N second lasers tunable over an L-band, each of the N channels including a corresponding one of a plurality of f

Assignees

• Evans Peter W
• Kish Jr Fred A
• Lal Vikrant
• Pleumeekers Jacco
• Butrie Timothy
• Coult David G
• Osenbach John W
• Tang Jie
• Zhang Jiaming
• Infinera Corp

Inventors

• Evans Peter W
• Kish Jr Fred A
• Lal Vikrant
• Pleumeekers Jacco
• Butrie Timothy
• Coult David G
• Osenbach John W
• Tang Jie
• Zhang Jiaming

Classifications

• H04B10/541

  Digital intensity or amplitude modulation · CPC title

• H04B10/616

  Details of the electronic signal processing in coherent optical receivers · CPC title

• H04J14/06

  Polarisation multiplex systems · CPC title

• H04J14/0297 Primary

  Optical equipment protection · CPC title

• G02B6/4206

  Optical features (G02B6/4207, G02B6/421 take precedence) · CPC title