Disclosed is a service provisioning tool and method for determining favorable implementations of a service in a grid-less optical network, wherein said service provisioning tool is configured to assign total cost values to a given implementations, select the implementation or a group of implementations having the lowest cost, wherein said total cost values are based on —cost values regarding selectable data rates on individual links, —cost values regarding necessity to install additional equipment, —cost values regarding selectable signal frequency bands. One or more of said cost values are dynamically changing as a function of one or more of the degree of utilization, the lifetime of the service, the time available for establishing the service, a modulation format and a signal power. The cost value per band width varies, depending on one or more of the size of the selected frequency band, and to what extent the selected frequency band fills gaps between occupied spectral ranges or creates gaps remaining between occupied spectral ranges.

A free space optical communication system transmits and receives optical signals in a colorless manner using an optical circulator. The system installs the optical circulator with a single mode (SM) fiber at port 1, a double clad (DC) fiber at port 2, and a multimode (MM) fiber at port 3. The system injects a first optical signal into a core of the SM fiber. The system then routes the first optical signal at port 1, using the optical circulator, into a SM core of the DC fiber via Port 2. Further, the system injects a second optical signal into a first cladding of the DC fiber. The system then routes the second optical signal at port 2, using the optical circulator, into the MM fiber via Port 3.

Aspects described herein include an optical apparatus comprising a multiple-stage arrangement of two-mode Bragg gratings comprising: at least a first Bragg grating of a first stage. The first Bragg grating is configured to transmit a first two wavelengths and to reflect a second two wavelengths of a received optical signal. The optical apparatus further comprises a second Bragg grating of a second stage. The second Bragg grating is configured to transmit one of the first two wavelengths and to reflect an other of the first two wavelengths. The optical apparatus further comprises a third Bragg grating of the second stage. The third Bragg grating is configured to transmit one of the second two wavelengths and to reflect an other of the second two wavelengths.

This disclosure describes devices and methods related to multiplexing optical data signals. A method may be disclosed for multiplexing one or more optical data signals. The method may comprise receiving, by a dense wave division multiplexer (DWDM), one or more optical data signals. The method may comprise combining, by the DWDM, the one or more optical data signals. The method may comprise outputting, by the DWDM, the combined one or more optical data signals to one or more wave division multiplexer (WDM). The method may comprise combining, by the one or more WDM, the combined one or more optical data signals and one or more second optical data signals, and outputting an egress optical data signal comprising the combined one or more optical data signals and one or more second optical data signals.

Data center interconnections, which encompass WSCs as well as traditional data centers, have become both a bottleneck and a cost/power issue for cloud computing providers, cloud service providers and the users of the cloud generally. Fiber optic technologies already play critical roles in data center operations and will increasingly in the future. The goal is to move data as fast as possible with the lowest latency with the lowest cost and the smallest space consumption on the server blade and throughout the network. Accordingly, it would be beneficial for new fiber optic interconnection architectures to address the traditional hierarchal time-division multiplexed (TDM) routing and interconnection and provide reduced latency, increased flexibility, lower cost, lower power consumption, and provide interconnections exploiting NMD Gbps photonic interconnects wherein N channels are provided each carrying M wavelength division signals at D Gbps.

An optical network is provided that includes at least one strand of a plurality of strands of optical fiber optically connected to a first fiber distribution hub and an access terminal. The at least one strand optically is also connected to a second fiber distribution hub and the access terminal. The at least one strand thus provides a full duplex optical path in a first direction from the first fiber distribution hubs to the access terminal and in a second direction from the second fiber distribution hub to the access terminal.

A WDM1r combiner for a PON. The output end of an input waveguide is connected to the input end of a first grating filter, the output end of the first grating filter is connected to the input ends of a first mode filter, a second grating filter, a second mode filter, a connecting waveguide, a third grating filter, a third mode filter, and a fourth grating filter in sequence, and the output end of the fourth grating filter is connected to an output waveguide. The function of the WDM1r combiner for a PON is achieved in the form of cascaded grating filters; different central wavelengths and bandwidths of four channels are obtained by optimizing a grating structure; an on-chip WDM1r combiner which is low in insertion loss and crosstalk and has flat-top response is obtained; the combiner has the advantages of being simple in structure, simple in process, excellent in performance, etc.

Disclosed herein is a wavelength-division multiplexing device with a unified passband. In particular, disclosed is a wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) device with at least a common port, a channel port, and a WDM filter. The common port is configured for optical communication of a multiplexed signal to the WDM filter. A demultiplexed signal of the multiplexed signal includes a first secondary demultiplexed signal within a first wavelength range and a second secondary demultiplexed signal within a second wavelength range, which are separated from each other by a third wavelength range. The first WDM filter has a single unified passband including the first wavelength range, the second wavelength range, and the third wavelength range, such that the first WDM filter is configured to pass the first secondary demultiplexed signal and the second secondary demultiplexed signal to the first channel port.

A method for configuring hardware-configured optical links includes generating a first optical signal comprising a slow scan of wavelength channels where the slow scan has a dwell time on a particular wavelength channel. A second optical signal is generated comprising a fast scan of wavelength channels, where the fast scan has a dwell time on a particular wavelength channel and a complete channel scan time where the slow scan dwell time is greater than or equal to complete channel scan time. The first optical signal is transmitted over a link and a portion is then detected. A pulse of light having a duration that is less than the dwell time on the particular wavelength channel of the fast scan is then detected. Client data traffic is then sent over the link in response to the detected pulse of light and the detected portion of the first optical signal.

Systems and methods for optical modulation index calibration in a CATV network.