Method and apparatus for space-division multiplexing systems

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9344779-B2
Application number	US-201213602722-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 4, 2012
Priority date	Sep 2, 2011
Publication date	May 17, 2016
Grant date	May 17, 2016

Abstract

A space division multiplexed (SDM) transmission system that includes at least two segments of transmission media in which a spatial assignment of the two segments is different is provided. For example, the SDM transmission may include a first segment of transmission media having a first spatial assignment and a second segment of transmission media having a second spatial assignment, wherein the first spatial assignment differs from the second spatial assignment. An example method obtains an optical signal on a first segment of transmission media having a first spatial assignment and forwards the optical signal on a second segment of transmission media with a different spatial assignment. The transmission media may be a multi-core fiber (MCF), a multi-mode fiber (MMF), a few-mode fiber (FMF), or a ribbon cable comprising nominally uncoupled single-mode fiber (SMF).

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A space division multiplexed (SDM) transmission system comprising:
first and second segments of multicore optical fiber;
an optical add-drop multiplexer (OADM) configurable to add and drop wavelength channels of a wavelength-division multiplexed optical signal;
a first singlecore-to-multicore connector configured to connect individual cores of said first segment to inputs of said OADM; and
a second singlecore-to-multicore connector configured to connect outputs of said OADM to individual cores of said second segment,
wherein a first fiber core of said first segment is connected to a fiber core of said second segment other than a fiber core corresponding to said first fiber core of said first segment.

2. The SDM transmission system of claim 1 , wherein a spatial assignment of said optical cores of said second multicore optical fiber is altered from a spatial assignment of said optical cores of said first multicore optical fiber in a cyclic fashion.

3. The SDM transmission system of claim 1 , wherein a spatial assignment of said optical cores of said second multicore optical fiber varies from a spatial assignment of said optical cores of said first multicore optical fiber according to a predetermined pattern.

4. The SDM transmission system of claim 1 , wherein said OADM comprises a reconfigurable optical add drop multiplexer (ROADM).

5. The SDM transmission system of claim 1 , wherein the optical add drop multiplexer contains an N-input N-output optical switch.

6. The SDM transmission system of claim 1 , further comprising a transmitter and a receiver, wherein the first segment and the second segment comprise a link between the transmitter and the receiver.

7. The SDM transmission system of claim 1 , wherein said OADM is a first OADM, and further comprising a second OADM and a third OADM, wherein the first segment and the second segment comprise a link between the second OADM and the third OADM.

8. The SDM transmission system of claim 1 , further comprising a first amplifier and a second amplifier, wherein the first segment and the second segment comprise a link between the first amplifier and the second amplifier.

9. A method comprising:
obtaining an optical signal on a first multicore optical fiber segment;
forwarding the optical signal to a second multicore optical fiber segment,
wherein the optical signal is forwarded via a first singlecore-to-multicore connector that connects individual cores of said first segment to inputs of an optical add-drop multiplexer (OADM) or an optical amplifier;
wherein the optical signal is forwarded via a second singlecore-to-multicore connector that connects outputs of said OADM or said optical amplifier to individual cores of said second segment, and
wherein spatial assignment of optical cores of said first and second multicore optical fibers segments is altered such that a first fiber core of said first segment is connected to a single fiber core of said second segment other than a fiber core corresponding to said first fiber core of said first segment.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the obtaining and forwarding are performed at multiple locations along a transmission link, and wherein spatial assignment alteration is performed at multiple locations along said transmission link.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the spatial assignment of said optical cores of said second multicore optical fiber segments is altered from the spatial assignment of said optical cores of said first multicore optical fiber segments in a cyclic fashion.

12. The method of claim 9 , wherein the spatial assignment of said optical cores of said second multicore optical fiber is altered from the spatial assignment of said optical cores of said first multicore optical fiber according to a predetermined pattern.

13. The method of claim 9 , wherein said OADM comprises a reconfigurable optical add drop multiplexer (ROADM).

14. The method of claim 9 , wherein said OADM comprises an N-input N-output optical switch.

15. A space division multiplexed (SDM) transmission system comprising:
a first and second of multicore optical fiber segments;
a plurality of optical amplifiers;
a first singlecore-to-multicore connector configured to connect individual cores of said first segment to individual ones of said amplifiers; and
a second singlecore-to-multicore connector configured to connect outputs of individual ones of said amplifiers to individual cores of said second segment,
wherein a first fiber core of said first segment is connected to a single fiber core of said second segment other than a fiber core corresponding to said first fiber core of said first segment.

16. The SDM transmission system of claim 15 , wherein a spatial assignment of said optical cores of said second multicore optical fiber segment is altered from a spatial assignment of said optical cores of said first multicore optical fiber segment in a cyclic fashion.

17. The SDM transmission system of claim 15 , wherein a spatial assignment of said optical cores of said second multicore optical fiber segment varies from a spatial assignment of said optical cores of said first multicore optical fiber segment according to a predetermined pattern.

18. The SDM transmission system of claim 15 , further comprising a transmitter and a receiver, wherein the first segment and the second segment comprise a link between the transmitter and the receiver.

19. The SDM transmission system of claim 15 , further comprising a second amplifier and a third amplifier, wherein the first segment and the second segment comprise a link between the second amplifier and the third amplifier.

20. A space division multiplexed (SDM) transmission system comprising:
a first multicore optical fiber having a first plurality of optical cores; and
a second multicore optical fiber having a second plurality of optical cores,
wherein a first fiber core of said first plurality of optical cores is connected to a single second fiber core of said second multicore optical fiber other than a first fiber core of said second multicore optical fiber that corresponds to said first fiber core of said first multicore optical fiber.

21. The SDM transmission system of claim 20 , wherein said first and second fiber cores are connected via an optical add-drop multiplexer (OADM).

22. The SDM transmission system of claim 20 , wherein said first plurality of optical cores are connected to said second plurality of optical cores according to a cyclic core index shift.

23. The SDM transmission system of claim 20 , wherein said first and second fiber cores are connected via an optical amplifier.

Assignees

• Sethumadhavan Chandrasekhar
• Liu Xiang
• Winzer Peter J
• Gnauck Alan H
• Alcatel Lucent

Inventors

• Sethumadhavan Chandrasekhar
• Liu Xiang
• Winzer Peter J
• Gnauck Alan H

Classifications

• G02B6/26

  Optical coupling means (G02B6/36, G02B6/42 take precedence) · CPC title

• H04B10/50

  Transmitters · CPC title

• H04J14/021 Primary

  Reconfigurable arrangements, e.g. reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexers [ROADM] or tunable optical add/drop multiplexers [TOADM] · CPC title

• H04B10/2581

  Multimode transmission · CPC title

• H04J14/04

  Mode multiplex systems · CPC title