Apparatus for optical signal amplification

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9509430-B2
Application number	US-201414574768-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 18, 2014
Priority date	Dec 18, 2014
Publication date	Nov 29, 2016
Grant date	Nov 29, 2016

Abstract

Apparatus for amplifying signal such as a burst mode signal in an optical network. A doped fiber, for example an erbium-doped fiber is placed in a preferably passive module along an optical data transmission path. A pump port is optically connected to at least one combiner such as a WDM (wavelength division multiplexor) that is placed along the optical transmission path to add in a pump wavelength in the vicinity of the doped fiber. The apparatus, which is preferably completely passive, may be advantageously placed in communication with a remote pump light source such as a pump laser resident on a management node of the network. A second pump port may be added, as well as one or more detector ports to facilitate operation of a remote control processor, which may also be resident in a management node such as an OLT (optical line terminal) in a PON (passive optical network).

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An optical network comprising a management node separate from but optically connected with a multiplexing module, wherein the multiplexing module is positioned downstream from the management node, and wherein:
the multiplexing module comprises:
at least one upstream-facing data port;
a downstream-facing data port, the downstream-facing data port and the at least one upstream-facing data port defining an optical data transmission path through the multiplexing module;
an erbium-doped fiber forming at least a portion of the optical transmission path;
a pump-facing amplifier port, wherein the pump-facing amplifier port is optically connected with the erbium-doped fiber via an optical path comprising an optical combiner connecting the optical path and the erbium-doped fiber such that light received at the pump-facing amplifier port propagates in the erbium doped fiber;
an output detector tap on the optical transmission path upstream of the erbium-doped fiber and optically connected with an output-detector-facing port; and

the management node comprises:
at least one downstream-facing data port;
an optical pump;
an optical-pump port optically connected with the optical pump via an optical path;
an output detector optically connected with an output-detector-tap-facing port;
a processor optically connected with the optical pump and the output detector; and
a memory accessible to the processor.

2. The optical network of claim 1 , further comprising an optical fiber forming at least part of an optical path between the optical pump port of the management node and the pump-facing amplifier port of the multiplexing module.

3. The optical network of claim 1 , wherein the optical network is a PON (passive optical network).

4. The optical network of claim 1 , wherein the multiplexing module is a WM (wavelength multiplexing module).

5. The optical network of claim 1 , wherein the management node is an OLT (optical line terminal).

6. The optical network of claim 1 , wherein the optical combiner is a WDM (wavelength division multiplexor/demultiplexor).

7. The optical network of claim 1 , wherein the multiplexing module is a passive component.

8. The optical network of claim 1 , wherein the multiplexing module is resident in a cabinet with the management node.

9. The optical network of claim 1 , wherein the multiplexing module is located remotely from the management node.

10. The optical network of claim 1 , wherein the at least one upstream-facing data port is a plurality of upstream-facing data ports, and wherein the multiplexing module further comprises an upstream WDM (wavelength division multiplexor) optically connected with at least one of the plurality of upstream-facing data ports.

11. The optical network of claim 10 , wherein the upstream WDM is a cyclic WDM.

12. The optical network of claim 11 , further comprising an ASE (amplified spontaneous emission) filter positioned on the optical data transmission path downstream of the cyclic WDM.

13. The optical network of claim 10 , wherein the upstream WDM is a thin film filter.

14. The optical network of claim 1 , wherein the multiplexing node further comprises a input detector tap on the optical transmission path downstream of the erbium-doped fiber and optically connected with an input detector facing port; and the management node further comprises an input detector optically connected with an input-detector-tap-facing port.

Assignees

• Alcatel Lucent Usa Inc
• Alcatel-Lucent Deutschland Ag
• Alcatel Lucent

Inventors

• Poehlmann Wolfgang
• Smith Joseph Lee

Classifications

• H04B10/293 Primary

  Signal power control · CPC title

• H04J14/0221 Primary

  Power control, e.g. to keep the total optical power constant · CPC title

• H04Q2011/0016

  using wavelength multiplexing or demultiplexing · CPC title

• H04J14/0297

  Optical equipment protection · CPC title

• H04B10/2939

  Network aspects · CPC title