Abstract: In one aspect, an etalon assembly is provided. The etalon assembly includes an inner housing having a collimating lens and an etalon. The etalon assembly further includes a fiber pigtail assembly optically aligned with respect to the collimating lens and affixed to the inner housing. Additionally, the etalon assembly includes an outer glass housing with an inner cavity, the inner housing being affixed to a first end of the outer glass housing and a glass header containing one or more sealed electrical pins being affixed to a second end of the outer glass housing that is opposite the first end.

Abstract: In one embodiment, an optical device assembly is provided. The optical device includes a housing with a moisture-resistant sealed cylindrical cavity in which first and second optical surfaces are optically coupled, the first optical surface being disposed on a first optical element that is within a first end of the cylindrical cavity and the second optical surface being disposed on a second optical element that is within a second end of the cylindrical cavity that is opposite the first end.

Abstract: A tunable dispersion compensator (TDC) is tuned from a first dispersion setpoint to a second dispersion setpoint while maintaining continuity of the dispersion. The dispersion tuning follows a pre-determined trajectory in the time domain, so that continuity of the optical dispersion across the channel optical bandwidth is maintained while minimizing all other TDC-induced optical impairments during a tuning period.

Abstract: Described is a method for designing individual stages of a multiple cascaded etalon TDC device to allow continuous thermo-optic tuning over a desired range without inducing incremental signal distortion due to uncontrolled and unpredictable dispersion of the TDC during tuning. This allows the signal to transmit without encountering periods of incremental distortion or dark spots. The method includes prior knowledge of each etalon stage, after full assembly, for spectral group delay profile as a function of temperature through modeling and/or characterization. Characterization can account for performance variations that are due to allowed manufacturing tolerances.

Abstract: A tunable dispersion compensator (TDC) is tuned from a first dispersion setpoint to a second dispersion setpoint while maintaining continuity of the dispersion.

Abstract: One embodiment sets forth a technique for measuring chromatic dispersion using reference signals within the operational range of amplifiers used to refresh data signals. One red/blue laser pair in the transmission node is used for measuring dispersion and chromatic dispersion compensation is added at each line node in the system. Since reference and data signals propagate through each amplifier, the reference signals used to measure chromatic dispersion receive the same dispersion compensation (and will have the same residual dispersion) as the data signals. Therefore, any residual dispersion in the data signals will manifest itself in downstream dispersion measurements and, thus, can be corrected. The tunable dispersion compensator in each line node may be set to compensate for the measured dispersion, thereby compensating for both the chromatic dispersion of the link connecting the current node to the prior node and any uncorrected residual dispersion from prior nodes.

Abstract: One embodiment sets forth a technique for measuring chromatic dispersion using reference signals within the operational range of amplifiers used to refresh data signals. One red/blue laser pair in the transmission node is used for measuring dispersion and chromatic dispersion compensation is added at each line node in the system. Since reference and data signals propagate through each amplifier, the reference signals used to measure chromatic dispersion receive the same dispersion compensation (and will have the same residual dispersion) as the data signals. Therefore, any residual dispersion in the data signals will manifest itself in downstream dispersion measurements and, thus, can be corrected. The tunable dispersion compensator in each line node may be set to compensate for the measured dispersion, thereby compensating for both the chromatic dispersion of the link connecting the current node to the prior node and any uncorrected residual dispersion from prior nodes.

Abstract: Described is a method for designing individual stages of a multiple cascaded etalon TDC device to allow continuous thermo-optic tuning over a desired range without inducing incremental signal distortion due to uncontrolled and unpredictable dispersion of the TDC during tuning. This allows the signal to transmit without encountering periods of incremental distortion or dark spots. The method includes prior knowledge of each etalon stage, after full assembly, for spectral group delay profile as a function of temperature through modeling and/or characterization. Characterization can account for performance variations that are due to allowed manufacturing tolerances.

Abstract: Described is a method for designing individual stages of a multiple cascaded etalon TDC device to allow continuous thermo-optic tuning over a desired range without inducing incremental signal distortion due to uncontrolled and unpredictable dispersion of the TDC during tuning. This allows the signal to transmit without encountering periods of incremental distortion or dark spots. The method includes prior knowledge of each etalon stage, after full assembly, for spectral group delay profile as a function of temperature through modeling and/or characterization. Characterization can account for performance variations that are due to allowed manufacturing tolerances.

Abstract: One embodiment of the present invention sets forth a technique for determining properties of optical links using the amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) of integrated amplifiers. To calibrate the system, existing amplifiers in the nodes of the system can be operated in an ASE mode. A bypass switch at the mid-stage of each amplifier routes the ASE from the amplifier's first stage into one or more signal processing components, creating reference signals. Subsequently, the bypass switch routes the reference signals back into the mid-stage of the amplifier. After propagating through a link to the next node in the system, the optical parameters of the reference signals are measured and used to determine properties of the link, such as chromatic dispersion and attenuation. Tunable devices within the two nodes connected by the link may be set to compensate for specific properties of the link, thereby improving the quality of transmitted signals.

Abstract: Described is a method for designing individual stages of a multiple cascaded etalon TDC device to allow continuous thermo-optic tuning over a desired range without inducing incremental signal distortion due to uncontrolled and unpredictable dispersion of the TDC during tuning. This allows the signal to transmit without encountering periods of incremental distortion or dark spots. The method includes prior knowledge of each etalon stage, after full assembly, for spectral group delay profile as a function of temperature through modeling and/or characterization. Characterization can account for performance variations that are due to allowed manufacturing tolerances.

Abstract: An optical amplifier including a gain fiber, first and second sources of pump light for providing pump light through the gain fiber, first and second optical couplers coupling the first and second sources of pump light to different points along the gain fiber, and a cut-off filter coupled to one or the other of the first and second optical connections for preventing pump light generated by one of the sources from reflecting off the second of the sources and reentering the first source. The gain fiber also includes dopant atoms such as erbium. The cut-off filter is preferably one of a wavelength division multiplexer and an optical isolator.

Abstract: An apparatus for measuring polarization dependent loss is disclosed featuring several fiber optic couplers combined in tandem and oriented such that the PDL noise of the measurement system is reduced to a negligible level. By matching the PDLs of the couplers and vectorally subtracting opposite phases of polarization, the PDL of the measurement system is virtually eliminated. Thus, the PDL noise floor is lowered to near zero and the PDL of the optical device-under-test (DUT) can be accurately measured. The system is relatively inexpensive to implement and offers needed versatility because it measures the PDL of optical devices that operate in a reflection mode or in a forward transmission mode. Thus, it provides one PDL measurement solution for both types of devices.

Abstract: An apparatus for measuring polarization dependent loss is disclosed featuring several fiber optic couplers combined in tandem and oriented such that the PDL noise of the measurement system is reduced to a negligible level. By matching the PDLs of the couplers and vectorally subtracting opposite phases of polarization, the PDL of the measurement system is virtually eliminated. Thus, the PDL noise floor is lowered to near zero and the PDL of the optical device-under-test (DUT) can be accurately measured. The system is relatively inexpensive to implement and offers needed versatility because it measures the PDL of optical devices that operate in a reflection mode or in a forward transmission mode. Thus, it provides one PDL measurement solution for both types of devices.