Centralized Laser Bank Amortizes Optical Transport Costs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Optical transport systems face high costs due to expensive optical-electrical-optical components, particularly lasers, which require precise temperature control and are costly to package and cool, limiting the efficient use of bandwidth on optical fibers as transmission distance increases.
Innovation Solution
A centralized laser bank with an array of fixed and tunable lasers is used, where lasers are tightly packed and thermally controlled, allowing for precise temperature tracking and rapid swapping of failed lasers, reducing the need for separate lasers in transceivers and minimizing cooling requirements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If separate lasers are used in each transceiver, then each transceiver has independent laser control, but the overall system cost increases and bandwidth utilization is limited
Solution Approach 1:
A single laser bank is designed to serve multiple transceivers by providing laser beams through a common optical path. The laser bank includes a first laser for transmitting laser beams to multiple transceivers via a first optical path, and a second laser for transmitting laser beams to multiple transceivers via a second optical path. This multi-functional design eliminates the need for separate lasers in each transceiver, reducing system complexity while enabling shared resource utilization across multiple communication channels.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges multiple laser functions into a single centralized laser bank that serves multiple transceivers. Instead of having independent lasers in each transceiver, the system combines laser generation, beam combining, and optical path sharing into one integrated unit. The beam combining unit combines laser beams from the first and second lasers, and the optical switches direct these combined beams to different transceivers, achieving resource consolidation and reducing overall system complexity.
2Measurement precision
If expensive high-quality lasers are used, then precise wavelength control and transmission quality are improved, but the overall system cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The laser bank provides precise wavelength control for multiple transceivers through a single centralized system. The first laser and second laser each provide laser beams with controlled wavelengths, and the beam combining unit maintains this precision across multiple optical paths. This universal approach allows expensive high-quality lasers to be shared across multiple channels, achieving precise wavelength control without proportionally increasing system cost for each individual transceiver.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses optical copying and beam combining to distribute laser beams from a single source to multiple transceivers. The optical switches and beam combining unit create copies of the laser beams along different optical paths without requiring separate laser sources for each transceiver. This allows the system to maintain precise wavelength control through the original laser source while serving multiple destinations, reducing the total number of expensive laser components needed.
3Productivity
If more lasers are deployed to increase bandwidth, then transmission capacity increases, but cooling requirements and power consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple laser beams into a single beam combining unit that serves multiple transceivers. The beam combining unit combines laser beams from the first and second lasers into a single combined beam that can be distributed to multiple transceivers through optical switches. This consolidation reduces the total number of separate laser cooling systems required, as the combined beam can be managed by a single cooling infrastructure while maintaining high transmission capacity across multiple channels.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution reduces the overall cost of optical transport systems by amortizing the expense of high-quality lasers, enabling more precise and efficient transmission over longer distances while maintaining precise wavelength control, thereby increasing bandwidth utilization on optical fibers.
Implementation Method 1
a first laser in the laser bank that transmits a first laser beam to a first transceiver, and a second laser in the laser bank that transmits a second laser beam to a second transceiver
Implementation Method 2
an optical switch that switches between a first optical path and a second optical path in response to a control signal
Implementation Method 3
a beam combining unit that combines the first laser beam and the second laser beam into a combined beam
Implementation Method 4
precise temperature tracking and rapid swapping of failed lasers, reducing the need for separate lasers in transceivers and minimizing cooling requirements
Data Source
AI summary
A laser system includes an array of lasers that emit light at a number of different, fixed wavelengths. A group of optical transport systems connect to the laser system. Each of the optical transport systems is configured to modulate data signals onto the light from the laser system to create optical signals and transmit the optical signals on one or more optical fibers.