Optical Add-Drop Structure With Shared Pumped Amplifier Array
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current optical communication systems face challenges in achieving high-capacity, cost-effective, and efficient reconfigurable optical add/drop modules that support both single-wavelength and super channels while maintaining contentionless, directionless, and colorless multiplexing properties.
Innovation Solution
The proposed optical system incorporates a multicast-and-select switch with selective devices and an optical amplifying array using rare earth doped fibers, where the amplifying array is over-pumped with fewer laser pumps than amplifiers, and includes wave blockers to suppress unwanted wavelengths, enabling efficient amplification and filtering.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional CDC add/drop structures are used, then single-wavelength channel multiplexing is achieved, but capacity per transceiver is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The optical amplifier array is designed to handle multiple types of optical signals (single-wavelength channels and super channels) through the same infrastructure. The selective devices and amplifier array can be configured to process different wavelength configurations, making the system universal and adaptable to various channel types without requiring separate dedicated structures for each channel type.
Solution Approach 2:
The system achieves high capacity by changing the wavelength parameter configuration - supporting both single-wavelength channels and super channels (multiple wavelengths) through the same physical infrastructure. By adjusting the wavelength multiplexing configuration and using over-pumped amplifier arrays, the system can dynamically adapt to different capacity requirements while maintaining CDC properties.
2Adaptability or versatility
If full CDC properties are achieved, then routing flexibility is maximized, but the number of transmitters and receivers required increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of requiring dedicated transmitters and receivers for each wavelength and port combination, the system uses optical copying through the amplifier array where a single transmitter's signal can be amplified and distributed to multiple receivers. The over-pumped amplifier array creates optical copies of the signal across different wavelengths and ports, reducing the need for multiple independent TR pairs while maintaining full CDC routing flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the functions of multiple transmitters and receivers into a shared amplifier array infrastructure. By combining the amplification resources and using wavelength-selective switching, the system achieves full CDC properties with fewer discrete TR components, as the amplifier array serves multiple routing functions simultaneously.
3Productivity
If more optical amplifiers are used to support higher capacity, then signal amplification capability increases, but pump power management complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple optical amplifiers share a common pump light source through the over-pumped configuration. Instead of each amplifier having its own dedicated pump, the system merges the pump resources into a shared infrastructure where a single high-power pump serves multiple amplifiers in the array, reducing pump power management complexity and cost while maintaining high amplification capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The pump light source serves multiple functions by simultaneously pumping multiple amplifiers in the array. This universal pump configuration allows the same pump infrastructure to support high-capacity amplification across multiple wavelengths and channels, achieving high productivity without proportionally increasing pump management complexity.
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 configuration supports a higher number of transmitters and receivers for the same number of add/drop ports, improves optical signal-to-noise ratio, and reduces costs by simplifying pump power management and amplifier design, while maintaining high performance and flexibility.
Implementation Method 1
each of the plurality of optical amplifiers comprises one or more rare earth doped optical fibers for amplifying an optical signal propagating therethrough
Implementation Method 2
one or more laser pumps for providing pump light sufficient to fully saturate all of the rare earth doped optical fibers in the optical amplifying array
Implementation Method 3
one or more laser pumps for providing pump light sufficient to fully saturate all of the rare earth doped optical fibers
Implementation Method 4
selective devices, each for blocking some of wavelengths of light passing therethrough and for passing at least one other wavelength therethrough
Data Source
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AI summary
An optical circuit includes: a multicast-and-select (MCS) switch and multiple optical selective devices coupled to output ports of the MCS switch. The selective devices may select a single optical channel by blocking some of wavelengths of light passing therethrough and passing at least one other wavelength. The selective devices may be wave blockers or tunable optical filters. The optical circuit further includes an optical amplifying array, wherein each amplifier has an input port optically coupled to one of the selective devices. At least some of the amplifiers have pump light ports for receiving at least a portion of the pump light from one or more laser pumps or from another of the optical amplifiers, wherein the pumps are capable of providing pump light sufficient to fully saturate all of the rare earth doped optical fibers in the array.