초록 ▼

A multi-wavelength mode-locked dense wavelength division multiplexed (MWML-DWDM) optical transmission method and system including a MWML-DWDM optical transmitter having a multiwavelength mode-locked (MWML) laser which generates a wavelength-ordered repetitive periodic (WORP) sequence of discrete opt

A multi-wavelength mode-locked dense wavelength division multiplexed (MWML-DWDM) optical transmission method and system including a MWML-DWDM optical transmitter having a multiwavelength mode-locked (MWML) laser which generates a wavelength-ordered repetitive periodic (WORP) sequence of discrete optical pulses for modulation with data carried by at least one electronic carrier. Signals from multiple telecommunications transmission interfaces are multiplexed together by a high speed electronic time domain multiplexer to form a single multiplexed high speed digital transmission stream that is encoded onto the optical pulse stream output by the MWML-DWDM optical transmitter by an optical modulator so as to provide multiple channels of information carried on a DWDM data stream over an optical fiber to a receiver where the data is received and decoded. A single MWML-DWDM optical transmitter and a single modulator may replace the numerous laser sources and associated modulators used in conventional WDM optical transmission systems. Wavelength usage may be further maximized by combining the outputs of several MWML-DWDM optical transmitters in the frequency domain using optical combiners or in the time domain using time division multiplexing techniques according to which DWDM wavelengths may be used more than once during a WORP-frame but only once during a pulse-frame. A single MWML laser source can provide hundreds of optical carriers.

대표청구항 ▼

[ We claim:] [4.] A multi-wavelength mode-locked dense wavelength division multiplexed (MWML-DWDM) optical transmitter, comprising:a multiwavelength mode-locked (MWML) laser source comprising a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) disposed in a cavity of said MWML laser source, said SOA being activ

[ We claim:] [4.] A multi-wavelength mode-locked dense wavelength division multiplexed (MWML-DWDM) optical transmitter, comprising:a multiwavelength mode-locked (MWML) laser source comprising a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) disposed in a cavity of said MWML laser source, said SOA being actively driven by a radio frequency (RF) signal and emitting periodic pulses within a plurality of discrete wavelength bands simultaneously at a port of said MWML laser source, where the RF signal oscillates at a frequency whereby one of said frequency and a sub-harmonic of said frequency substantially equals the inverse of the round trip travel time of pulses circulating within a cavity of said MWML laser source;a temporal dispersion element which time shifts said plurality of wavelengths by differential wavelength-dependent delays so as to transform pulses emitted by said MWML laser source into a wavelength ordered repetitive periodic (WORP) sequence of optical pulses; andan optical modulator which modulates an electronic digital data stream onto individual wavelengths in said WORP sequence.