US5016960A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Hybrid optical Y-junction
Assignee: Verizon Laboratories Inc
•
Filing: 1989-12-22
•
Granted: 1991-05-21
•
Expires: 2009-12-22
Abstract
Abstract A hybrid optical Y-junction device includes a 1×N optical fiber coupler connected to N waveguide structures fabricated on a single substrate. When the waveguide structure is a semiconductor optical amplifier, the hybrid Y-junction device is operable as either a modulator or lossless power divider. A nonblocking optical switch is constructed by coupling M×1 optical fiber couplers to the outputs of the waveguide structures in the hybrid Y-junction. The switch is also effective as a wavelength division multiplexer when periodic gratings are integrated into the waveguide amplifiers.
Inventors
- 👤 Elliot Eichen
- 👤 Paul Melman
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-29 00:47
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04Q; H04Q11/00; H04Q11/0001; H04Q11/0003; G; G02; G02B; G02B6/00; G02B6/10; G02B6/12; G02B6/12007; G02B6/24; G02B6/26; G02B6/28; G02B6/2804; H01; H01S; H01S5/00; H01S5/10; H01S5/1028; H01S5/1032; H01S5/50; G02B2006/12133; G02B2006/1215; H01S5/40; H01S5/4025; H01S5/4031; H01S5/4068
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 10
Claim 1
Independent Claim
79 words
A hybrid optical Y-junction, comprising: a 1×N optical fiber coupler having a fiber input and N fiber outputs; a plurality of semiconductor optical amplifiers fabricated on a common substrate, each of said amplifiers having an input and an output; means for fiber coupling each of the fiber outputs of said optical fiber coupler to the input of a respective one of said amplifiers; and a plurality of fiber connecting means each coupled to the output of a respective amplifier.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
79 words
A hybrid optical Y-junction, comprising: a 1×N optical fiber coupler having a fiber input and N fiber outputs; a plurality of semiconductor optical amplifiers fabricated on a common substrate, each of said amplifiers having an input and an output; means for fiber coupling each of the fiber outputs of said optical fiber coupler to the input of a respective one of said amplifiers; and a plurality of fiber connecting means each coupled to the output of a respective amplifier.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
27 words
The hybrid optical Y-junction as recited in claim 1 further includes: means for selectively pumping said amplifiers so that each amplifier is capable of achieving variable gain/loss.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
118 words
A non-blocking optical switch, comprising: a plurality of 1×N input optical fiber couplers each having a fiber input connected to an input port and N fiber outputs; a plurality of semiconductor optical amplifiers fabricated on a common substrate, each amplifier having an input and an output; means for coupling each of the N fiber outputs of each input optical fiber coupler to the input of a respective one of said amplifiers; a plurality of N×1 output optical fiber couplers each having N fiber inputs and a single fiber output connected to an output port; and means for coupling the output of each amplifier to a respective fiber input of a respective one of said output optical fiber couplers;
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
118 words
A non-blocking optical switch, comprising: a plurality of 1×N input optical fiber couplers each having a fiber input connected to an input port and N fiber outputs; a plurality of semiconductor optical amplifiers fabricated on a common substrate, each amplifier having an input and an output; means for coupling each of the N fiber outputs of each input optical fiber coupler to the input of a respective one of said amplifiers; a plurality of N×1 output optical fiber couplers each having N fiber inputs and a single fiber output connected to an output port; and means for coupling the output of each amplifier to a respective fiber input of a respective one of said output optical fiber couplers;
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
39 words
The non-blocking optical switch as recited in claim 3 further includes: means for injection pumping said amplifiers so that an optical connection can be established between any one of said input ports and any one of said output ports.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
117 words
A non-blocking optical switch having wavelength selectively, comprising: a plurality of 1×N input optical fiber couplers each having a fiber input and N fiber outputs; a plurality of waveguides fabricated on a common substrate, each waveguide having an input and an output; each waveguide being integrated with a periodic grating; means for coupling each of the N fiber outputs of each input optical fiber coupler to the input of a respective one of said waveguides; a plurality of N×1 output optical fiber couplers each having N fiber inputs and a single fiber output; and means for coupling the output of each waveguide to a respective fiber input of a respective one of said output optical fiber couplers.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
117 words
A non-blocking optical switch having wavelength selectively, comprising: a plurality of 1×N input optical fiber couplers each having a fiber input and N fiber outputs; a plurality of waveguides fabricated on a common substrate, each waveguide having an input and an output; each waveguide being integrated with a periodic grating; means for coupling each of the N fiber outputs of each input optical fiber coupler to the input of a respective one of said waveguides; a plurality of N×1 output optical fiber couplers each having N fiber inputs and a single fiber output; and means for coupling the output of each waveguide to a respective fiber input of a respective one of said output optical fiber couplers.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
19 words
The nonblocking optical switch having wavelength selectivity as recited in claim 5 wherein: said waveguides are semiconductor optical amplifiers.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
37 words
The nonblocking optical switch having wavelength selectivity as recited in claim 6 further includes: means for injection pumping said amplifiers whereby each of said amplifiers provides gain at a particular wavelength in accordance with said respective grating.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1994-05-20 | 1994-11-19 | 1995-05-21 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1998-05-20 | 1998-11-19 | 1999-05-21 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2002-05-20 | 2002-11-19 | 2003-05-21 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |