Multi-direction variable optical transceiver

摘要

An optical transceiver including a multi-direction variable transmitter including multiple outputs with different subcarriers being directed to different ones of the outputs to go to different directions in a network, and a multi-direction variable receiver for receiving multiple inputs thereby enabling transmission direction in a network with the transceiver at subcarrier granularity and avoiding entire super-channel granularity and enabling unused subcarriers to be utilized for traffic in other directions or destinations and making switching granularity finer for flexibility in the network.

主权项

1. An optical transceiver comprising;
a multi-direction variable transmitter, wherein the transmitter includes:
a laser having an output;a multi-tone generator having an input connected to the output of the laser, and having an output producing plural subcarriers;a subcarrier demultiplexer having an input connected to the output of the multi-tone generator and having plural outputs, wherein the plural subcarriers are demultiplexed into single subcarriers at the outputs of the demultiplexer;plural modulators connected to the plural outputs of the subcarrier demultiplexer; anda subcarrier aggregator having plural inputs connected to the plural modulators, and having plural outputs corresponding to different destinations from the transceiver, wherein the aggregator selectively combines individual modulated subcarriers from the inputs into plural modulated subcarriers at the outputs, wherein different output have different combinations of subcarriers; and a multi-direction variable receiver, wherein the receiver includes:
a subcarrier combiner including plural optical inputs corresponding to different optical signal sources, and having an output;a splitter having an input connected to the output of the combiner, and having plural outputs;plural optical receiving units, each having a input connected to a corresponding one of the splitter outputs, and having an output producing data carried on a subcarrier received at the input of the receiving unit.