Abstract: An optical interconnect comprises an input configured to receive light of a plurality of light wavelengths and a plurality of holographic optical elements. Each element configured to reflect one out of the plurality of light wavelengths and allowing others of the plurality of wavelengths to not be reflected. Each of a plurality of prisms is configured to rotate received light at a different angle than any of the other prisms. For each holographic optical element, one of the plurality of prisms is positioned to receive and rotate light reflected by that holographic element. Each of a plurality of beam splitters is positioned to receive light rotated by a respective one of the plurality of prisms and all the plurality of beam splitters direct light to an output of the optical interconnect.

Abstract: A wavelength router receives light having a plurality of spectral bands at an input port. Subsets of these spectral bands are directed to output ports. The wavelength router includes an optical train and a routing mechanism. The optical train is disposed between the input port and output ports. It provides optical paths for routing the spectral bands and includes a wave plate for rotation polarization components and a dispersive element disposed to intercept light traveling from the input port. The optical train is configured so that light encounters the dispersive element and the wave plate twice before reaching any of the output ports. The routing mechanism has at least one dynamically configurable routing element to direct a given spectral band to different output ports depending on its state. For routing elements that use an odd number of reflections, the wave plate is a quarter-wave plate. For routing elements that use an even number reflections, the wave plate is a half-wave plate.

Abstract: A compact, in-line polarization combiner uses a folded, reflective optical path from a first fiber to a second fiber. The combiner includes first and second fibers at one end of an in-line package, and a third fiber at the other end of the in-line package. A first polarization-dependent optical path is defined between the first and second fibers for light in a first polarization state. A second polarization-dependent path is defined between the first and third fibers for light in a second polarization state orthogonal to the first polarization state. A polarizer is disposed between the ends of the combiner and reflects light on the first path between the first and second fibers and transmits light on the second path between the first and third ports, A reflector is disposed on the first path to reflect light to the polarizer.

Abstract: In an electronic device, plural circuit boards are plugged into respective connectors, or sockets, in a common backplane circuit board. The backplane maintains the flat circuit boards in fixed relation to one another. Each circuit board is provided with a respective optical transmitter and/or receiver to allow for the transmission of (typically digital) information via a high speed carrier in a light beam through unobstructed free space between the circuit boards. The circuit boards may also be provided with optical splitters and/or combiners as well as apertures to permit light signals to pass through the board's substrate to allow for communication between plural circuit boards. The circuit boards may further include small lenses and/or opaque elements to provide an optical path having selected physical characteristics.

Abstract: The instant invention provides an add/drop device including a wavelength filter, a quarter waveplate disposed on either side of the wavelength filter, and a polarizing beamsplitter disposed on either side of the quarter waveplates. Each polarizing beamsplitter has an input port and an output port for launching and receiving a beam of light having a known polarization. A polarization switch is optically coupled to each input/output port for selectably rotating the polarization of the input/output beams of light. Advantageously, the polarization switches, which work in cooperation with each other and the polarizing beam splitters, provide means for a non-moving parts add/drop device.

Abstract: A low-voltage electromechanical device including a tiltable microplatform, method of tilting same and array of such devices are provided. The tiltable or steerable microplatform utilizes a bent-beam actuator to achieve large tilting angles with low actuation voltages. Thin beams of the actuator are bent in such a way as to cause the microplatform to pivot around a dimple support that generates a torsional force leading to angular motion in suspension beams attached perpendicular to the thin beams and, in turn, leading to angular or tilting motion in the suspended microplatform. Some of the key features include (1) the low-voltage bent-beam actuator; (2) a dimple-supported microplatform with a hole underneath in the substrate to allow light to pass through and to allow unhindered tilting of the microplatform; and (3) a method for constructing a microprism on the tiltable transparent microplatform for color dispersion purposes in an adaptive vision system.

Abstract: This invention relates to a multiplexer with a DWDM function, mainly comprising two modules, and an optic fiber is linked between said two modules, in which several filters and reflection mirrors, inclined slabs, laser diodes, receiver, and optical detectors detecting reflection light are provided in each module; thereby, many groups of optic signals may be mutually transmitted in a line of optic fiber at the same time so that the volume of mutually transmitted signals may multiplies under the condition of no extra paved optic fibers required, and in order to effectively detect the variations of laser for promotion of the stability of the module, the laser diode and the optic detector are further located in a predetermined site and the inclined slab is used to draw the reflection light of the laser to the nearby optic detector detecting the reflection light.

Abstract: An optical link module of the present invention for connecting light beams by deflection and including light-emitting devices arranged in a planar manner; an optical fiber bundle that is an optical waveguide for receiving the light beams from the light-emitting devices, and an optical turn which includes a plurality of aspherical lenses which are disposed between the light-emitting devices and the optical fiber bundle and are formed while corresponding to the number of the light-emitting devices and the number of optical fibers.

Abstract: An East-West separable ROADM particularly usable as a programmable N×M optical add/drop multiplexer with an efficient pass through of optical channels in a multi-wavelength communication system. The East-West separable ROADM uses a grating that separates multi-channel optical signals into a plurality of optical channels, and combines a plurality of optical channels into multi-channel optical signals. Programmable mirrors and beam steerers can direct each optical channel to any of a plurality of fibers coupled to the device.

Abstract: The invention relates to wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) and demultiplexing of optical signals using optical filters in free space. To minimize dispersion, the present invention uses relatively small angles of incidence. To avoid the need for a large package, the present invention utilizes reflective prisms to steer the reflected beams to provide a lateral shift in the beam path that ensures that the necessary space is provided between the input/output ports. Devices including a single adjustable filter are disclosed, along with devices having a plurality of filters.

Abstract: An optical component in the form of a right angled triangular prism having a first side, a second side orthogonal to the first side, and a third side generally inclined to the first and second sides to reflect optical radiation incoming from the first side towards the second side. The first and second sides have semi-reflecting surfaces acting as etalon surfaces providing an interferometric pattern. The optical transmittance between the first and the second sides is wavelength dependent and the radiation exiting the second side of the component is rotated 90 degrees to the radiation entering the first side.

Abstract: One embodiment disclosed relates to a method for calibrating an array of light-modulating elements. The method includes illuminating the array of elements, modulating an intensity of light diffracted by the elements over a modulation range, and measuring the modulated light intensity from each element of the array using a linear detector. Other embodiments disclosed relate to an apparatus and system for calibrating an array of light-modulating elements. The apparatus includes a light source for illuminating the array of elements and a linear detector for measuring light intensities at points along a line segment. The apparatus is configured so that modulated light from each of the elements impinges upon a different point of the line segment. The system includes means for modulating an intensity of light diffracted by the elements over a modulation range and a detector for measuring the modulated light intensity from each element of the array.

Abstract: An optical multiplexing/demultiplexing apparatus includes: an optical fiber; a collimator optically coupled to the optical fiber; at least one anamorphic pair of prisms optically coupled to the collimator at a side opposite to the optical fiber; a diffraction grating optically coupled to the at least one anamorphic pair of prisms at a side opposite to the collimator; a focusing lens optically coupled to the at least one anamorphic pair of prisms; and a plurality of optical devices optically coupled to the focusing lens at a side opposite to the at least one anamorphic pair of prisms. The at least one anamorphic pair of prisms permits the beam incident upon the diffraction grating to be relatively narrow in a dimension perpendicular to the dispersive direction of the grating so that the grating can produce high spectral resolution while preserving compact system size and simplicity.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for multiplexing and demultiplexing optical signals. An interleaver having a modified Mach-Zehnder interferometer as a first stage is used as a wavelength division multiplexer. This first stage is combined with one or more cascaded stages, each having a beam splitter and an optical delay element. A light beam including a number of signals at different wavelengths is received. The beam is split such that approximately half of each signal is contained in one of two sub-beams. One of the two sub-beams passes through a delay element, which provides a phase shift. The two sub-beams are recombined and split again. Each wavelength adds constructively or destructively in the new sub-beams such that the signals are separated—some wavelengths are in one of the new sub-beams, some are in the other. One of these sub-beams is delayed, and the two are combined and split again, improving the separation.

Abstract: A wavelength multiplexing bidirectional optical transmission module includes a transparent plate having first and second reflection surfaces opposing each other, a diffraction grating formed on a part of one of the first and second reflection surfaces and photoelectric transfer elements. The diffraction grating receives a wavelength-multiplexed optical signal composed of at least two light beams of proximate wavelength bands and produces diffracted light beams one for each wavelength at different angles. The photoelectric transfer elements receive the diffracted light beams, respectively, that have been reflected and propagated between the first and second reflection surfaces.

Abstract: A wavelength router is provided for receiving, at an input port, light having a plurality of spectral bands and directing some of those spectral bands to various output ports. The wavelength router includes an optical arrangement configured to provide optical paths for routing the spectral bands between the input and the output ports. A routing mechanism within the wavelength router has at least one dynamically configurable routing element to direct a given spectral band to different output ports, depending on the state of the dynamically configurable element. The wavelength router also includes a polarization-rotation element disposed with respect to the optical arrangement and the routing mechanism to be encountered by each optical path at least twice.

Abstract: An interleaver comprises a serial array of optical elements to which a multichannel, continuous spectrum, composite signal is input and two multichannel, non-continuous spectrum, composite signals are output. Two embodiments are disclosed. One such embodiment provides output composite signals which are spectrally symmetric in that each such non-continuous spectrum contains the same number of channels albeit of alternating center wavelengths. The other such embodiment provides output composite signals which are spectrally asymmetric in that each such non-continuous spectrum contains either a different number of channels or an equal number of channels of narrower or wider passband. Each of the preferred embodiments comprises an array of optical elements which split the input composite signal into components of different polarization states, selectively add phase shifts to some of these components and recombine them a number of times.

Abstract: An optical device includes: a collimator; at least one anamorphic pair of prisms optically coupled to the collimator; a diffraction grating optically coupled to the at least one anamorphic pair of prisms at a side opposite to the collimator; and a focusing lens optically coupled to the diffraction grating. The anamorphic pair of prisms permits light incident upon the diffraction grating to be relatively narrow in a dimension perpendicular to the dispersive direction of the grating so that the grating can produce high spectral resolution while preserving compact system size and simplicity.

Abstract: The present invention provides an improved optical wavelength switch in which no mechanical movement is required to direct optical pathways between several fiber ports. The inventive three-fiber port device divides incoming optical signals into two subsets of spectra and selectively directs them into two output ports in response to an electrical control signal. In the inventive switch, an optical signal is spatially split into two polarized beams, by a birefringent element, which thereafter pass through a series polarization rotation elements and recombine into output fibers, achieving polarization independent operation. Advantageously, the inventive switch incorporates two-stage polarization rotations to improve isolation depth, as well as temperature and wavelength independence. The invention also incorporates light bending devices to allow two fibers to be coupled to the light beams via a single lens, thereby achieving small beam separation for compactness.

Abstract: Optical frequency-division filters for multiplexing and demultiplexing operations by combining wavelength-selective filtering and polarization properties of optical signals.

Abstract: A wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) apparatus and a WDM method are disclosed. The apparatus generally comprises an optical interleaver coupled to one or more WDM modules. Two or more interleaver modules may be cascaded together to expand the channel handling capacity. Alternatively, two or more WDM modules may be cascaded together to divide the even and odd channels into subsets. The interleaver interleaves a first signal, containing one or more odd channels and one or more even channels with a second signal, containing a portion of the odd channels and a third signal containing a portion of the even channels. A characteristic frequency spacing between adjacent even channels in the second signal and/or a characteristic spacing between adjacent odd channels in the third signal is about two or more times the value of a characteristic frequency spacing of adjacent channels in the first signal.

Abstract: An optical apparatus comprises a phase grating, an input-ring array, an output-ring array and an optical interconnect. The phase grating produces a modulated light beam for each of a plurality of processing elements. The modulated light beams have a plurality of light wavelengths. An input-ring array receives the plurality of data modulated light beams. An output-ring array outputs a light beam to each processing element. An optical interconnect transfers light from the input-ring array to the output ring array and uniquely rotates each wavelength of the transferred light.