Patent US6134034A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US6134034A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Apparatus and method for controlling power levels of individual signal lights of a wavelength division multiplexed signal light
Assignee: Fujitsu Ltd
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Filing: 1996-12-26
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Granted: 2000-10-17
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Expires: 2016-12-26
Abstract
Abstract An apparatus and method for controlling power levels of individual signal lights of a wavelength division multiplexed (WEM) signal light. The apparatus includes an optical fiber, a coupler and a controller. The WDM signal light travels through the optical fiber. The WDM signal light includes a plurality of individual signal lights which each have a corresponding power level. The coupler decouples a portion of the WDM signal light from the optical fiber. The controller determines the spectrum of the WDM signal light from the decoupled portion and controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights in accordance with the determined spectrum. More specifically, the controller can control the relative power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights with respect to each other. In addition, the controller can control the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights to perform preemphasis on the WDM signal light. The controller can control the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights to obtain substantially equal signal to noise ratios of the plurality of individual signal lights as received by a receiver through the optical fiber. The method includes the steps of (a) decoupling a portion of a WDM signal light travelling through an optical fiber (b) determining the spectrum of the WDM signal light from the decoupled portion, and (c) controlling the power levels of individual signal lights of the WDM signal light in accordance with the determined spectrum.
Inventors
- 👤 Takafumi Terahara
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 16:49
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04B; H04B10/00; H04B10/50; H04B10/501; H04B10/503; H04B10/505; H04B10/506; H04B10/564; H04J; H04J14/00; H04J14/02; H04J14/0221; H04J14/02216
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 52
Claim 1
Independent Claim
132 words
An apparatus comprising: an optical fiber through which a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) signal light travels, the WDM signal light including a plurality of individual signal lights which each have a corresponding power level; a coupler which decouples a portion of the WDM signal light from the optical fiber; a controller which determines the spectrum of the WDM signal light from the decoupled portion and controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights in accordance with the determined spectrum; and a receiver which receives, through the optical fiber, the WDM signal light having the portion decoupled therefrom, wherein the controller controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights to obtain substantially equal signal to noise ratios of the plurality of individual signal lights at the receiver.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
132 words
An apparatus comprising: an optical fiber through which a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) signal light travels, the WDM signal light including a plurality of individual signal lights which each have a corresponding power level; a coupler which decouples a portion of the WDM signal light from the optical fiber; a controller which determines the spectrum of the WDM signal light from the decoupled portion and controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights in accordance with the determined spectrum; and a receiver which receives, through the optical fiber, the WDM signal light having the portion decoupled therefrom, wherein the controller controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights to obtain substantially equal signal to noise ratios of the plurality of individual signal lights at the receiver.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
68 words
An apparatus as in claim 1, wherein the controller comprises: a dispersing device which disperses the decoupled portion of the WDM signal light into a plurality of disbursed lights travelling, respectively, in a plurality of different directions; and a photodetector array which detects spectrum peak values of the plurality of disbursed lights, the controller determining the spectrum of the WDM signal light from the detected spectrum peak values.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
14 words
An apparatus as in claim 2, wherein the dispersing device is a diffraction grating.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
76 words
An apparatus as in claim 1, wherein the controller comprises: a wavelength component extracting device which extracts a plurality of different wavelength components from the decoupled portion of the WDM signal light; and a plurality of photodetectors corresponding, respectively, to the plurality of different wavelength components, each photodetector converting the corresponding wavelength component into an electrical signal, the controller determining the spectrum of the WDM signal light from the electrical signals of the plurality of photodetectors.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
64 words
An apparatus as in claim 1, further comprising: a combining mechanism which combines the plurality of individual signal lights with a plurality of tone components, respectively, wherein the controller determines an amplitude of each tone component of the plurality of tone components from the decoupled portion of the WDM signal light and determines the spectrum of the WDM signal light from the determined amplitudes.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
40 words
An apparatus as in claim 1, wherein the receiver includes a detector which detects the signal to noise ratios of the plurality of individual signal lights, and a means for providing the detected signal to noise ratios to the controller.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
136 words
An apparatus comprising: an optical fiber through which a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) signal light travels, the WDM signal light including a plurality of individual signal lights which each have a corresponding power level; a coupler which decouples a portion of the WDM signal light from the optical fiber; a controller which determines the spectrum of the WDM signal light from the decoupled portion and controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights in accordance with the determined spectrum; and a receiver which receives, through the optical fiber, the WDM signal light having the portion decoupled therefrom, wherein the controller controls the relative power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights with respect to each other to achieve target relative power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights at the receiver.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
136 words
An apparatus comprising: an optical fiber through which a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) signal light travels, the WDM signal light including a plurality of individual signal lights which each have a corresponding power level; a coupler which decouples a portion of the WDM signal light from the optical fiber; a controller which determines the spectrum of the WDM signal light from the decoupled portion and controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights in accordance with the determined spectrum; and a receiver which receives, through the optical fiber, the WDM signal light having the portion decoupled therefrom, wherein the controller controls the relative power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights with respect to each other to achieve target relative power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights at the receiver.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
141 words
An apparatus comprising: an optical fiber through which a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) signal light travels, the WDM signal light including a plurality of individual signal lights which each have a corresponding power level; a coupler which decouples a portion of the WDM signal light from the optical fiber; a controller which determines the spectrum of the WDM signal light from the decoupled portion and controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights in accordance with the determined spectrum; and a receiver which receives, through the optical fiber, the WDM signal light having the portion decoupled therefrom, wherein the controller controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights to perform preemphasis on the WDM signal light and thereby obtain substantially equal signal to noise ratios of the plurality of individual signal lights at the receiver.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
141 words
An apparatus comprising: an optical fiber through which a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) signal light travels, the WDM signal light including a plurality of individual signal lights which each have a corresponding power level; a coupler which decouples a portion of the WDM signal light from the optical fiber; a controller which determines the spectrum of the WDM signal light from the decoupled portion and controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights in accordance with the determined spectrum; and a receiver which receives, through the optical fiber, the WDM signal light having the portion decoupled therefrom, wherein the controller controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights to perform preemphasis on the WDM signal light and thereby obtain substantially equal signal to noise ratios of the plurality of individual signal lights at the receiver.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
164 words
An apparatus comprising: an optical fiber through which a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) signal light travels, the WDM signal light including a plurality of individual signal lights which each have a corresponding power level; a coupler which decouples a portion of the WDM signal light from the optical fiber; a controller which determines the spectrum of the WDM signal light from the decoupled portion and controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights in accordance with the determined spectrum; a plurality of optical amplifiers respectively corresponding to the plurality of individual signal lights, each optical amplifier having a variable gain and amplifying the corresponding individual signal light in accordance with the variable gain; and a multiplexer which multiplexes the amplified plurality of individual signal lights together to produce the WDM signal light, and provides the WDM signal light to the optical fiber, wherein the controller controls the variable gains to control the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
164 words
An apparatus comprising: an optical fiber through which a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) signal light travels, the WDM signal light including a plurality of individual signal lights which each have a corresponding power level; a coupler which decouples a portion of the WDM signal light from the optical fiber; a controller which determines the spectrum of the WDM signal light from the decoupled portion and controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights in accordance with the determined spectrum; a plurality of optical amplifiers respectively corresponding to the plurality of individual signal lights, each optical amplifier having a variable gain and amplifying the corresponding individual signal light in accordance with the variable gain; and a multiplexer which multiplexes the amplified plurality of individual signal lights together to produce the WDM signal light, and provides the WDM signal light to the optical fiber, wherein the controller controls the variable gains to control the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
164 words
An apparatus comprising: an optical fiber through which a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) signal light travels, the WDM signal light including a plurality of individual signal lights which each have a corresponding power level; a coupler which decouples a portion of the WDM signal light from the optical fiber; a controller which determines the spectrum of the WDM signal light from the decoupled portion and controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights in accordance with the determined spectrum; a plurality of optical amplifiers respectively corresponding to the plurality of individual signal lights, each optical amplifier receiving pump light and amplifying the corresponding individual signal light in accordance with the received pump light; and a multiplexer which multiplexes the amplified plurality of individual signal lights together to produce the WDM signal light, and provides the WDM signal light to the optical fiber, wherein the controller controls the pump lights to control the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
164 words
An apparatus comprising: an optical fiber through which a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) signal light travels, the WDM signal light including a plurality of individual signal lights which each have a corresponding power level; a coupler which decouples a portion of the WDM signal light from the optical fiber; a controller which determines the spectrum of the WDM signal light from the decoupled portion and controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights in accordance with the determined spectrum; a plurality of optical amplifiers respectively corresponding to the plurality of individual signal lights, each optical amplifier receiving pump light and amplifying the corresponding individual signal light in accordance with the received pump light; and a multiplexer which multiplexes the amplified plurality of individual signal lights together to produce the WDM signal light, and provides the WDM signal light to the optical fiber, wherein the controller controls the pump lights to control the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
190 words
An apparatus comprising: an optical fiber through which a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) signal light travels, the WDM signal light including a plurality of individual signal lights which each have a corresponding power level; a coupler which decouples a portion of the WDM signal light from the optical fiber; a controller which determines the spectrum of the WDM signal light from the decoupled portion and controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights in accordance with the determined spectrum; a plurality of optical amplifiers respectively corresponding to the plurality of individual signal lights, each optical amplifier including a doped fiber, and a light source which produces pump light and provides the pump light to the doped fiber, the corresponding individual signal light travelling through the doped fiber to be amplified by the pump light; and a multiplexer which multiplexes the amplified plurality of individual signal lights together to produce the WDM signal light, and provides the WDM signal light to the optical fiber, wherein the controller controls the pump lights produced by the light sources to control the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
190 words
An apparatus comprising: an optical fiber through which a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) signal light travels, the WDM signal light including a plurality of individual signal lights which each have a corresponding power level; a coupler which decouples a portion of the WDM signal light from the optical fiber; a controller which determines the spectrum of the WDM signal light from the decoupled portion and controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights in accordance with the determined spectrum; a plurality of optical amplifiers respectively corresponding to the plurality of individual signal lights, each optical amplifier including a doped fiber, and a light source which produces pump light and provides the pump light to the doped fiber, the corresponding individual signal light travelling through the doped fiber to be amplified by the pump light; and a multiplexer which multiplexes the amplified plurality of individual signal lights together to produce the WDM signal light, and provides the WDM signal light to the optical fiber, wherein the controller controls the pump lights produced by the light sources to control the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
139 words
An apparatus comprising: an optical fiber through which a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) signal light travels, the WDM signal light including a plurality of individual signal lights which each have a corresponding power level; a coupler which decouples a portion of the WDM signal light from the optical fiber; a controller which determines the spectrum of the WDM signal light from the decoupled portion and controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights in accordance with the determined spectrum; and a combining mechanism which combines the plurality of individual signal lights with a plurality of tone components, respectively, wherein the controller determines an amplitude of each tone component of the plurality of tone components from the decoupled portion of the WDM signal light and determines the spectrum of the WDM signal light from the determined amplitudes.
Claim 19
Independent Claim
139 words
An apparatus comprising: an optical fiber through which a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) signal light travels, the WDM signal light including a plurality of individual signal lights which each have a corresponding power level; a coupler which decouples a portion of the WDM signal light from the optical fiber; a controller which determines the spectrum of the WDM signal light from the decoupled portion and controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights in accordance with the determined spectrum; and a combining mechanism which combines the plurality of individual signal lights with a plurality of tone components, respectively, wherein the controller determines an amplitude of each tone component of the plurality of tone components from the decoupled portion of the WDM signal light and determines the spectrum of the WDM signal light from the determined amplitudes.
Claim 20
Independent Claim
155 words
An apparatus comprising: a plurality of transmitters which produce a plurality of respectively corresponding individual signal lights that each have a corresponding power level; a multiplexer which multiplexes the plurality of individual signal lights together to produce a WDM signal light; an optical fiber which receives the WDM signal light and propagates the WDM signal light therethrough; a coupler which decouples a portion of the WDM signal light from the optical fiber; a controller which determines the spectrum of the WDM signal light from the decoupled portion and controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights in accordance with the determined spectrum; and a receiver which receives, through the optical fiber, the WDM signal light having the portion decoupled therefrom, wherein the controller controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights to obtain substantially equal signal to noise ratios of the plurality of individual signal lights at the receiver.
Claim 21
Independent Claim
155 words
An apparatus comprising: a plurality of transmitters which produce a plurality of respectively corresponding individual signal lights that each have a corresponding power level; a multiplexer which multiplexes the plurality of individual signal lights together to produce a WDM signal light; an optical fiber which receives the WDM signal light and propagates the WDM signal light therethrough; a coupler which decouples a portion of the WDM signal light from the optical fiber; a controller which determines the spectrum of the WDM signal light from the decoupled portion and controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights in accordance with the determined spectrum; and a receiver which receives, through the optical fiber, the WDM signal light having the portion decoupled therefrom, wherein the controller controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights to obtain substantially equal signal to noise ratios of the plurality of individual signal lights at the receiver.
Claim 22
Independent Claim
164 words
An apparatus comprising: a plurality of transmitters which produce a plurality of respectively corresponding individual signal lights that each have a corresponding power level; a multiplexer which multiplexes the plurality of individual signal lights together to produce a WDM signal light; an optical fiber which receives the WDM signal light and propagates the WDM signal light therethrough; a coupler which decouples a portion of the WDM signal light from the optical fiber; a controller which determines the spectrum of the WDM signal light from the decoupled portion and controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights in accordance with the determined spectrum; and a receiver which receives, through the optical fiber, the WDM signal light having the portion decoupled therefrom, wherein the controller controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights to perform preemphasis on the WDM signal light and thereby obtain substantially equal signal to noise ratios of the plurality of individual signal lights at the receiver.
Claim 23
Independent Claim
164 words
An apparatus comprising: a plurality of transmitters which produce a plurality of respectively corresponding individual signal lights that each have a corresponding power level; a multiplexer which multiplexes the plurality of individual signal lights together to produce a WDM signal light; an optical fiber which receives the WDM signal light and propagates the WDM signal light therethrough; a coupler which decouples a portion of the WDM signal light from the optical fiber; a controller which determines the spectrum of the WDM signal light from the decoupled portion and controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights in accordance with the determined spectrum; and a receiver which receives, through the optical fiber, the WDM signal light having the portion decoupled therefrom, wherein the controller controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights to perform preemphasis on the WDM signal light and thereby obtain substantially equal signal to noise ratios of the plurality of individual signal lights at the receiver.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
166 words
An optical communication system comprising: a transmitting station which produces a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) signal light including a plurality of individual signal lights each having a corresponding power level; and a receiving station which receives the WDM signal light from the transmitting station, detects a signal to noise ratio of each individual signal light in the received WDM signal light and produces a corresponding detection signal, and provides the detection signal to the transmitting station, wherein the transmitting station includes a controller which controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights to obtain substantially equal signal to noise ratios of the plurality of individual signal lights at the receiving station, the optical communication system further comprises an optical transmission line connecting the transmitting station to the receiving station, the receiving station receives the WDM signal light from the transmitting station through the optical transmission line, and the transmitting station receives the detection signal from the receiving station through the optical transmission line.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
166 words
An optical communication system comprising: a transmitting station which produces a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) signal light including a plurality of individual signal lights each having a corresponding power level; and a receiving station which receives the WDM signal light from the transmitting station, detects a signal to noise ratio of each individual signal light in the received WDM signal light and produces a corresponding detection signal, and provides the detection signal to the transmitting station, wherein the transmitting station includes a controller which controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights to obtain substantially equal signal to noise ratios of the plurality of individual signal lights at the receiving station, the optical communication system further comprises an optical transmission line connecting the transmitting station to the receiving station, the receiving station receives the WDM signal light from the transmitting station through the optical transmission line, and the transmitting station receives the detection signal from the receiving station through the optical transmission line.
Claim 26
Independent Claim
128 words
A method comprising the steps of: decoupling a portion of a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) signal light travelling through an optical fiber, the WDM signal light including a plurality of individual signal lights which each have a corresponding power level; determining the spectrum of the WDM signal light from the decoupled portion; controlling the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights in accordance with the determined spectrum; and receiving, through the optical fiber, the WDM signal light having the portion decoupled therefrom, wherein the step of controlling further comprises controlling the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights to obtain substantially equal signal to noise ratios of the plurality of individual signal lights of the received WDM signal light having the portion decoupled therefrom.
Claim 27
Independent Claim
128 words
A method comprising the steps of: decoupling a portion of a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) signal light travelling through an optical fiber, the WDM signal light including a plurality of individual signal lights which each have a corresponding power level; determining the spectrum of the WDM signal light from the decoupled portion; controlling the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights in accordance with the determined spectrum; and receiving, through the optical fiber, the WDM signal light having the portion decoupled therefrom, wherein the step of controlling further comprises controlling the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights to obtain substantially equal signal to noise ratios of the plurality of individual signal lights of the received WDM signal light having the portion decoupled therefrom.
Claim 28
Independent Claim
119 words
An apparatus comprising: an optical fiber through which a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) signal light travels, the WDM signal light including a plurality of individual signal lights which each have a corresponding power level; a coupler which decouples a portion of the WDM signal light from the optical fiber; a controller which controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights in accordance with the decoupled portion; and a receiver which receives, through the optical fiber, the WDM signal light having the portion decoupled therefrom, wherein the controller controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights to obtain substantially equal signal to noise ratios of the plurality of individual signal lights at the receiver.
Claim 29
Independent Claim
119 words
An apparatus comprising: an optical fiber through which a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) signal light travels, the WDM signal light including a plurality of individual signal lights which each have a corresponding power level; a coupler which decouples a portion of the WDM signal light from the optical fiber; a controller which controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights in accordance with the decoupled portion; and a receiver which receives, through the optical fiber, the WDM signal light having the portion decoupled therefrom, wherein the controller controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights to obtain substantially equal signal to noise ratios of the plurality of individual signal lights at the receiver.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
68 words
An apparatus as in claim 17, wherein the controller comprises: a dispersing device which disperses the decoupled portion of the WDM signal light into a plurality of disbursed lights travelling, respectively, in a plurality of different directions; and a photodetector array which detects spectrum peak values of the plurality of disbursed lights, the controller determining the spectrum of the WDM signal light from the detected spectrum peak values.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
14 words
An apparatus as in claim 18, wherein the dispersing device is a diffraction grating.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
76 words
An apparatus as in claim 17, wherein the controller comprises: a wavelength component extracting device which extracts a plurality of different wavelength components from the decoupled portion of the WDM signal light; and a plurality of photodetectors corresponding, respectively, to the plurality of different wavelength components, each photodetector converting the corresponding wavelength component into an electrical signal, the controller determining the spectrum of the WDM signal light from the electrical signals of the plurality of photodetectors.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
69 words
An apparatus as in claim 17, further comprising: a combining mechanism which combines the plurality of individual signal lights with a plurality of tone components, respectively, wherein the controller determines an amplitude of each tone component of the plurality of tone components from the decoupled portion of the WDM signal light and controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights in accordance with the determined amplitudes.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
40 words
An apparatus as in claim 17, wherein the receiver includes a detector which detects the signal to noise ratios of the plurality of individual signal lights, and a means for providing the detected signal to noise ratios to the controller.
Claim 35
Independent Claim
123 words
An apparatus comprising: an optical fiber through which a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) signal light travels, the WDM signal light including a plurality of individual signal lights which each have a corresponding power level; a coupler which decouples a portion of the WDM signal light from the optical fiber; a controller which controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights in accordance with the decoupled portion; and a receiver which receives, through the optical fiber, the WDM signal light having the portion decoupled therefrom, wherein the controller controls the relative power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights with respect to each other to achieve target relative power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights at the receiver.
Claim 36
Independent Claim
123 words
An apparatus comprising: an optical fiber through which a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) signal light travels, the WDM signal light including a plurality of individual signal lights which each have a corresponding power level; a coupler which decouples a portion of the WDM signal light from the optical fiber; a controller which controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights in accordance with the decoupled portion; and a receiver which receives, through the optical fiber, the WDM signal light having the portion decoupled therefrom, wherein the controller controls the relative power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights with respect to each other to achieve target relative power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights at the receiver.
Claim 37
Independent Claim
127 words
An apparatus comprising: an optical fiber through which a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) signal light travels, the WDM signal light including a plurality of individual signal lights which each have a corresponding power level; a coupler which decouples a portion of the WDM signal light from the optical fiber; a controller which controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights in accordance with the decoupled portion; a receiver which receives, through the optical fiber, the WDM signal light having the portion decoupled therefrom, wherein the controller controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights to perform preemphasis on the WDM signal light and thereby obtain substantially equal signal to noise ratios of the plurality of individual signal lights at the receiver.
Claim 38
Independent Claim
127 words
An apparatus comprising: an optical fiber through which a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) signal light travels, the WDM signal light including a plurality of individual signal lights which each have a corresponding power level; a coupler which decouples a portion of the WDM signal light from the optical fiber; a controller which controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights in accordance with the decoupled portion; a receiver which receives, through the optical fiber, the WDM signal light having the portion decoupled therefrom, wherein the controller controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights to perform preemphasis on the WDM signal light and thereby obtain substantially equal signal to noise ratios of the plurality of individual signal lights at the receiver.
Claim 39
Independent Claim
151 words
An apparatus comprising: an optical fiber through which a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) signal light travels, the WDM signal light including a plurality of individual signal lights which each have a corresponding power level; a coupler which decouples a portion of the WDM signal light from the optical fiber; a controller which controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights in accordance with the decoupled portion; a plurality of optical amplifiers respectively corresponding to the plurality of individual signal lights, each optical amplifier having a variable gain and amplifying the corresponding individual signal light in accordance with the variable gain; and a multiplexer which multiplexes the amplified plurality of individual signal lights together to produce the WDM signal light, and provides the WDM signal light to the optical fiber, wherein the controller controls the variable gains to control the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights.
Claim 40
Independent Claim
151 words
An apparatus comprising: an optical fiber through which a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) signal light travels, the WDM signal light including a plurality of individual signal lights which each have a corresponding power level; a coupler which decouples a portion of the WDM signal light from the optical fiber; a controller which controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights in accordance with the decoupled portion; a plurality of optical amplifiers respectively corresponding to the plurality of individual signal lights, each optical amplifier having a variable gain and amplifying the corresponding individual signal light in accordance with the variable gain; and a multiplexer which multiplexes the amplified plurality of individual signal lights together to produce the WDM signal light, and provides the WDM signal light to the optical fiber, wherein the controller controls the variable gains to control the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights.
Claim 41
Independent Claim
151 words
An apparatus comprising: an optical fiber through which a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) signal light travels, the WDM signal light including a plurality of individual signal lights which each have a corresponding power level; a coupler which decouples a portion of the WDM signal light from the optical fiber; a controller which controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights in accordance with the decoupled portion; a plurality of optical amplifiers respectively corresponding to the plurality of individual signal lights, each optical amplifier receiving pump light and amplifying the corresponding individual signal light in accordance with the received pump light; and a multiplexer which multiplexes the amplified plurality of individual signal lights together to produce the WDM signal light, and provides the WDM signal light to the optical fiber, wherein the controller controls the pump lights to control the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights.
Claim 42
Independent Claim
151 words
An apparatus comprising: an optical fiber through which a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) signal light travels, the WDM signal light including a plurality of individual signal lights which each have a corresponding power level; a coupler which decouples a portion of the WDM signal light from the optical fiber; a controller which controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights in accordance with the decoupled portion; a plurality of optical amplifiers respectively corresponding to the plurality of individual signal lights, each optical amplifier receiving pump light and amplifying the corresponding individual signal light in accordance with the received pump light; and a multiplexer which multiplexes the amplified plurality of individual signal lights together to produce the WDM signal light, and provides the WDM signal light to the optical fiber, wherein the controller controls the pump lights to control the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights.
Claim 43
Independent Claim
177 words
An apparatus comprising: an optical fiber through which a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) signal light travels, the WDM signal light including a plurality of individual signal lights which each have a corresponding power level; a coupler which decouples a portion of the WDM signal light from the optical fiber; a controller which controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights in accordance with the decoupled portion; a plurality of optical amplifiers respectively corresponding to the plurality of individual signal lights, each optical amplifier including a doped fiber, and a light source which produces pump light and provides the pump light to the doped fiber, the corresponding individual signal light travelling through the doped fiber to be amplified by the pump light; and a multiplexer which multiplexes the amplified plurality of individual signal lights together to produce the WDM signal light, and provides the WDM signal light to the optical fiber, wherein the controller controls the pump lights produced by the light sources to control the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights.
Claim 44
Independent Claim
177 words
An apparatus comprising: an optical fiber through which a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) signal light travels, the WDM signal light including a plurality of individual signal lights which each have a corresponding power level; a coupler which decouples a portion of the WDM signal light from the optical fiber; a controller which controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights in accordance with the decoupled portion; a plurality of optical amplifiers respectively corresponding to the plurality of individual signal lights, each optical amplifier including a doped fiber, and a light source which produces pump light and provides the pump light to the doped fiber, the corresponding individual signal light travelling through the doped fiber to be amplified by the pump light; and a multiplexer which multiplexes the amplified plurality of individual signal lights together to produce the WDM signal light, and provides the WDM signal light to the optical fiber, wherein the controller controls the pump lights produced by the light sources to control the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights.
Claim 45
Independent Claim
131 words
An apparatus comprising: an optical fiber through which a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) signal light travels, the WDM signal light including a plurality of individual signal lights which each have a corresponding power level; a coupler which decouples a portion of the WDM signal light from the optical fiber; a controller which controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights in accordance with the decoupled portion; and a combining mechanism which combines the plurality of individual signal lights with a plurality of tone components, respectively, wherein the controller determines an amplitude of each tone component of the plurality of tone components from the decoupled portion of the WDM signal light and controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights in accordance with the determined amplitudes.
Claim 46
Independent Claim
131 words
An apparatus comprising: an optical fiber through which a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) signal light travels, the WDM signal light including a plurality of individual signal lights which each have a corresponding power level; a coupler which decouples a portion of the WDM signal light from the optical fiber; a controller which controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights in accordance with the decoupled portion; and a combining mechanism which combines the plurality of individual signal lights with a plurality of tone components, respectively, wherein the controller determines an amplitude of each tone component of the plurality of tone components from the decoupled portion of the WDM signal light and controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights in accordance with the determined amplitudes.
Claim 47
Independent Claim
142 words
An apparatus comprising: a plurality of transmitters which produce a plurality of respectively corresponding individual signal lights that each have a corresponding power level; a multiplexer which multiplexes the plurality of individual signal lights together to produce a WDM signal light; an optical fiber which receives the WDM signal light and propagates the WDM signal light therethrough; a coupler which decouples a portion of the WDM signal light from the optical fiber; a controller which controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights in accordance with the decoupled portion; and a receiver which receives, through the optical fiber, the WDM signal light having the portion decoupled therefrom, wherein the controller controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights to obtain substantially equal signal to noise ratios of the plurality of individual signal lights at the receiver.
Claim 48
Independent Claim
142 words
An apparatus comprising: a plurality of transmitters which produce a plurality of respectively corresponding individual signal lights that each have a corresponding power level; a multiplexer which multiplexes the plurality of individual signal lights together to produce a WDM signal light; an optical fiber which receives the WDM signal light and propagates the WDM signal light therethrough; a coupler which decouples a portion of the WDM signal light from the optical fiber; a controller which controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights in accordance with the decoupled portion; and a receiver which receives, through the optical fiber, the WDM signal light having the portion decoupled therefrom, wherein the controller controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights to obtain substantially equal signal to noise ratios of the plurality of individual signal lights at the receiver.
Claim 49
Independent Claim
151 words
An apparatus comprising: a plurality of transmitters which produce a plurality of respectively corresponding individual signal lights that each have a corresponding power level; a multiplexer which multiplexes the plurality of individual signal lights together to produce a WDM signal light; an optical fiber which receives the WDM signal light and propagates the WDM signal light therethrough; a coupler which decouples a portion of the WDM signal light from the optical fiber; a controller which controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights in accordance with the decoupled portion; and a receiver which receives, through the optical fiber, the WDM signal light having the portion decoupled therefrom, wherein the controller controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights to perform preemphasis on the WDM signal light and thereby obtain substantially equal signal to noise ratios of the plurality of individual signal lights at the receiver.
Claim 50
Independent Claim
151 words
An apparatus comprising: a plurality of transmitters which produce a plurality of respectively corresponding individual signal lights that each have a corresponding power level; a multiplexer which multiplexes the plurality of individual signal lights together to produce a WDM signal light; an optical fiber which receives the WDM signal light and propagates the WDM signal light therethrough; a coupler which decouples a portion of the WDM signal light from the optical fiber; a controller which controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights in accordance with the decoupled portion; and a receiver which receives, through the optical fiber, the WDM signal light having the portion decoupled therefrom, wherein the controller controls the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights to perform preemphasis on the WDM signal light and thereby obtain substantially equal signal to noise ratios of the plurality of individual signal lights at the receiver.
Claim 51
Independent Claim
98 words
A method comprising the steps of: decoupling a portion of a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) signal light travelling through an optical fiber, the WDM signal light including a plurality of individual signal lights which each have a corresponding power level; receiving, through the optical fiber, the WDM signal light having the portion decoupled therefrom; and controlling the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights in accordance with the decoupled portion to obtain substantially equal signal to noise ratios of the plurality of individual signal lights of the received WDM signal light having the portion decoupled therefrom.
Claim 52
Independent Claim
98 words
A method comprising the steps of: decoupling a portion of a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) signal light travelling through an optical fiber, the WDM signal light including a plurality of individual signal lights which each have a corresponding power level; receiving, through the optical fiber, the WDM signal light having the portion decoupled therefrom; and controlling the power levels of the plurality of individual signal lights in accordance with the decoupled portion to obtain substantially equal signal to noise ratios of the plurality of individual signal lights of the received WDM signal light having the portion decoupled therefrom.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2003-10-17 | 2004-04-17 | 2004-10-17 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2007-10-17 | 2008-04-17 | 2008-10-17 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2011-10-17 | 2012-04-17 | 2012-10-17 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |