Abstract: A system comprises a transmitter including a laser configured to generate a laser beam directed at a spot on a surface, and a laser driver connected to the laser and configured to modulate input data onto the laser beam. The system may further comprise a receiver including an optical detector configured to decode received light into raw data, a signal processor configured to decode the raw data into the original input data, and telescope optics configured to receive light reflected from the spot on the surface, collimate the light and converge the light onto the optical detector.

Abstract: A polarization multiplexed receiver includes a polarization separator and optical mixing, detecting and analog-to-digital components. The polarization separator receives polarization multiplexed optical signals containing a first data stream and a second data stream, and operate upon the polarization multiplexed optical signals to separate, in an optical domain, the first data stream and the second data stream to generate a first optical output having the first data stream and a second optical output having the second data stream. The optical mixing, detecting and analog-to-digital converting components receive the first and second optical outputs from the polarization separator, extract, in a digital domain, the first data stream from the first optical output of the polarization separator, and extract, in the digital domain, the second data stream from the second optical output of the polarization separator.

Abstract: A network device includes a plurality of optical input/output (I/O) units to exchange one or more optical signals with the optical network. The network device further includes a switch fabric to process one or more optical signals exchanged with an optical network. The network device also includes a connector configured to receive a connector to couple the network device to another device. The network device also includes a base layer connecting to the plurality of optical I/O units and the switch fabric. The base layer is included in a connection that does not include a back plane and that enables communications between the plurality of I/O units, the switch fabric, and the connector.

Abstract: An optical network is configured to optimize network resources. The optical network includes multiple optical nodes, light paths between the multiple optical nodes, and a network monitoring device. The network monitoring device monitors the optical network to identify a failure in the optical network. When the failure is a fiber failure, light paths are re-routed around the fiber failure while maintaining the required bandwidth for the optical network. When the failure is a transponder card failure within one of the multiple nodes, a floating spare card may be provisioned to service a particular light path associated with the transponder card failure. When the failure is a node failure, transponder cards in some of the multiple optical nodes are provisioned to reconfigure some of the plurality of light paths to route traffic around the failed node.

Abstract: A method, performed by a computer device, may include determining that an available spectrum, associated with an optically switched light path, has been allocated for one or more superchannels and identifying a leftover spectrum, associated with the one or more superchannels allocated for the optically switched light path. The method may further include selecting a use for the leftover spectrum; selecting one or more devices to configure based on the selected use; configuring the selected one or more devices to use the leftover spectrum; and sending data via the leftover spectrum using the configured one or more devices.

Abstract: A device includes a first band coupler, a first reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer (ROADM), a second ROADM, and a second band coupler. The first band coupler is configured to decouple a regular band and an extended band. The first ROADM is configured to add or drop one or more frequencies in the decoupled regular band to produce a first output in the regular band. The second ROADM is configured to add or drop one or more frequencies in the decoupled extended band to produce a second output in the extended band. The second band coupler is configured to couple the first output and the second output to produce a third output occupying the regular band and the extended band.

Abstract: An exemplary method includes 1) detecting an initialization action performed by a first extremity of a user and a second extremity of the user, the initialization action comprising a touching of a first arbitrary location on the touch screen by the first extremity and a touching of a second arbitrary location on the touch screen by the second extremity, 2) designating, in response to the initialization action, the first arbitrary location as a first reference position and the second arbitrary location as a second reference position, 3) detecting one or more tapping actions performed on the touch screen, 4) determining a relative position on the touch screen of each of the one or more tapping actions with respect to the first and second reference positions, and 5) identifying one or more data entry commands associated with the one or more tapping actions. Corresponding methods and systems are also disclosed.

Abstract: An optical node includes a wavelength splitter configured to split optical signals comprising multiple optical wavelengths into separate outputs, with each of the separate outputs having a different wavelength. The optical node further includes a detector configured to detect optical signals associated with packets at each of the separate outputs, and determine a modulation applied to the optical signals at each of the separate outputs. The optical node also includes a processing unit configured to identify destination optical nodes for the packets based on the determined modulation.

Abstract: A method includes generating a test signal and modulating the test signal. The method may also include transmitting the test signal on an optical path, where the optical path may include a number of add-drop multiplexer devices and amplifiers. The method may also include receiving the test signal at a destination device and converting the received test signal into an electrical signal. The method may further include identifying a portion of the electrical signal that is associated with the modulated test signal.

Abstract: A network device may include a polarizing multiplexing transmitter, a polarization maintaining (PM) fiber, and a polarizing demultiplexing receiver. The polarizing multiplexing transmitter may generate an optical signal, split the optical signal into a first and a second split optical signal, and modulate the split optical signals based on electrical signals to form first and second modulated optical signals. The polarizing multiplexing transmitter may polarization multiplex the first and second modulated optical signals to form a polarization multiplexed signal and transmit the polarization multiplexed signal via the PM fiber to the polarizing demultiplexing receiver. The polarizing demultiplexing receiver may polarization demultiplex the polarization multiplexed signal to form the first and second modulated optical signals and directly detect the first and the second split optical signal from the first and second modulated optical signals.

Abstract: Exemplary systems, devices, and methods for evaluating a link status of a fiber-optic communication system are disclosed. An exemplary transceiver device includes a transmitter configured to transmit an optical signal having a first wavelength to an additional transceiver device by way of a single optical fiber, a receiver configured to receive an optical signal having a second wavelength from the additional transceiver device by way of the single optical fiber, and a link status facility communicatively coupled to the transmitter and the receiver and configured to provide one or more visual indications of a link status between the transceiver device and the additional transceiver device. Corresponding systems, devices, and methods are also disclosed.

Abstract: An optical communication system comprising an optical fiber connected to a first signal regeneration node located at a first end of the optical fiber and a second signal regeneration node located at a second end of the optical fiber; intermediary nodes located between the first and second signal regeneration nodes, wherein one or more pairs of adjacent intermediary nodes each define a span distance along the optical fiber; and one or more Raman amplifiers located within each span distance along the optical fiber, wherein at least one of the one or more Raman amplifiers comprises a case that encases one or more lasers and a temperature controller comprising a temperature sensor to monitor a temperature of the one or more lasers; and a temperature regulator to control a temperature of the one or more lasers.

Abstract: A backplane device may include an electrical bus, an optical fabric, and a plurality of card sockets. A particular one of the plurality of card sockets may include a first socket configured to receive a first electrical connector of a card and electrically connect the first electrical connector to the electrical bus; and a conversion device comprising a second socket configured to receive a second electrical connector of the card; and an optical transceiver configured to convert electrical signals received from the second electrical connector to optical signals and provide the optical signals to the optical fabric; and convert optical signals received from the optical fabric to electrical signals and provide the electrical signals to the second electrical connector.

Abstract: A method for managing an optical network having a plurality of nodes interconnected by a plurality of fiber links includes installing one or more active reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer (ROADM) cards into a node and installing a spare ROADM card into the node. The one or more active ROADM cards are configured to pass optical traffic to and from the optical network. The installed spare ROADM card is remotely activated to pass optical traffic to and from the optical network, subsequent to configuring the one or more active ROADM cards, based on one of: an event or expiration of a time period.

Abstract: Optical nodes in an optical network may provide directionless, colorless, contentionless, and gridless transmission, reception, and switching of optical signals in which a non-fixed number of optical channels and a non-fixed bandwidth for each optical channel is used. Optical nodes can use the full extent of the optical bandwidth due to the absence of channel spacing.

Abstract: An optical transceiver may include logic configured to incorporate a first identifier into a first optical signal and transmit the first optical signal on an optical link. The logic may be further configured to receive a second optical signal via the optical link; retrieve a second identifier from the received second optical signal; determine whether the first identifier matches the second identifier; and report that the optical link is associated with a faulty connection, when the first identifier matches the second identifier.

Abstract: A device includes a first band coupler, a first reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexer (ROADM), a second ROADM, and a second band coupler. The first band coupler is configured to decouple a regular band and an extended band. The first ROADM is configured to add or drop one or more frequencies in the decoupled regular band to produce a first output in the regular band. The second ROADM is configured to add or drop one or more frequencies in the decoupled extended band to produce a second output in the extended band. The second band coupler is configured to couple the first output and the second output to produce a third output occupying the regular band and the extended band.

Abstract: A device detects a signal condition for a link aggregation group (LAG) link, compares the detected signal condition to a signal threshold range, and enables one of a disabled state or a disabled timer state for the LAG link if the detected signal condition is outside the signal threshold range.

Abstract: A device receives, from an optical receiver, performance information associated with an optical channel generated by an optical transmitter, and determines, based on the received performance information, a wavelength that minimizes polarization mode dispersion (PMD) associated with the optical channel. The device also provides, to the optical transmitter, a request to adjust an optical channel wavelength to the determined wavelength.

Abstract: An optical switch and switching system includes a large scale switching device with a first input, a second input, a first output, and a second output. A small scale switching device includes a third input, a fourth input, and a third output, wherein the third input of the small scale switching device is coupled to the first output of the large scale switching device and the fourth input of the small scale switching device is coupled to the second output of the large scale switching device. A controller establishes a cross connect in the large scale switching device between the second input and the second output. The small scale switching device switches from the third input to the forth input upon establishment of the cross connect in the large scale switching device.