Abstract:
A system and method of providing a dynamic optical network topology according to topology determinations made by a network control is disclosed. The system and method includes optical ports on an optical circuit switch system operably connected to a plurality of server groups, and optical ports on the optical circuit switch system operably connected to a plurality of packet processing nodes. The system and method also includes at least one memory and at least one processor to execute network control software to receive input comprising a bandwidth request, determine an output comprising a preferred optical link topology for the optical circuit switch system based on the received input, convert the optical link topology for the optical circuit switch system into optical circuit switch port mapping, and send the optical circuit switch port mapping to the optical circuit switch system and to the packet processing nodes.
Abstract:
A packet switch/router including a first stage switch fabric receiving an electrical signal, a mid-stage buffer receiving and storing the electrical signal from the first stage switch fabric, and a second stage switch fabric receiving the electrical signal from the mid-stage buffer. Each switch fabric includes N layers of N×N arrayed waveguide gratings (AWGs), and each AWG has ingress ports and egress ports. A wavelength tunable device, such as a tunable laser, communicates with a source ingress port of an AWG and converts the received electrical signal to an optical signal having a wavelength selected for routing a packet from the source ingress port to a target egress port of the arrayed waveguide grating. A photoreceiver, such as a burst-mode photoreceiver, receives the propagated optical signal from the target egress port and converts the optical signal to the electrical signal.
Abstract:
Aspects of the invention provide transmitters and receivers for managing multiple optical signals. High order modulation, such as phase and/or amplitude modulation, is used to achieve multiple bits per symbol by transporting multiple asynchronous data streams in an optical transport system. One or more supplemental multiplexing techniques such as time division multiplexing, polarization multiplexing and sub-carrier multiplexing may be used in conjunction with the high order modulation processing. This may be done in various combinations to realize a highly spectrally efficient multi-data stream transport mechanism. The system receives a number of asynchronous signals which are unframed and synchronized, and then reframed and tagged prior to the high order modulation. Differential encoding may also be performed. Upon reception of the multiplexed optical signal, the receiver circuitry may employ either direct detection without a local oscillator or coherent detection with a local oscillator.
Abstract:
A method of controlling phase alignment in a modulator of a transmitter in an optical communications system uses a narrowband optical filter to monitor changes in power spectral density of a modulated output at and around the optical carrier frequency. In one embodiment, a method controls alignment of a carrier-suppressed-return-to-zero (CSRZ) pulse train in accordance with changes in the power spectral density of the CSRZ modulated optical signal at and around the optical carrier frequency and generates phase adjustment control signals by executing a phase-control loop to maintain the power spectral density of the CSRZ modulated output at the optical carrier frequency at a desired level.
Abstract:
A cavity-less vertical semiconductor optical amplifier is provided which includes an active region of an intrinsic bulk semiconductor material sandwiched between p- and n-layers of semiconductor materials in which a vertical gain channel of a predetermined confined cross-sectional configuration is formed to constitute an amplification region of the optical amplifier. The amplification region is sandwiched between layers of p- and n-doped layers of linearly graded semiconductor material supplying holes and electrons to the active region upon switching “ON” of the optical amplifier. Several factors contribute to substantial amplification of an optical signal at a relatively low injection current which include a relatively long active region allowing sufficient single pass gain as well as a strictly confined cross-sectional configuration of the vertical gain channel which reduces the active volume of the amplification region resulting in substantially high gain at a relatively low current. Flattening of the conduction band and valence band profiles allows easy access of the holes and electrons into the active region. The cavity-less vertical semiconductor optical amplifier of the present invention is intended for multidimensional architectural structures for high speed communication.