An assembly for optical to electrical power conversion including a photodiode assembly having a substrate layer and an internal side, an antireflective layer, a heterojunction buffer layer adjacent the internal side; an active area positioned adjacent the heterojunction buffer layer, a plurality of n+ electrode regions and p+ electrode regions positioned adjacent the active area, and back-contacts configured to align with the n+ and p+ electrode regions. The active area converts photons from incoming light into liberated electron hole pairs. The heterojunction buffer layer prevents electrons and holes of the liberated electron hole pairs from moving toward the substrate layer. The plurality of electrode regions are configured in an alternating pattern with gaps between each n+ and p+ electrode region. The electrode regions receive and generate electrical current from migration of the electrons and the holes, provide electrical pathways for the electrical current, and provide thermal pathways to dissipate heat.

A network or system in which a hub or primary node may communicate with a plurality of leaf or secondary nodes. The hub node may operate or have a capacity greater than that of the leaf nodes. Accordingly, relatively inexpensive leaf nodes may be deployed to receive data carrying optical signals from, and supply data carrying optical signals to, the hub node. One or more connections may couple each leaf node to the hub node, whereby each connection may include one or more spans or segments of optical fibers, optical amplifiers, optical splitters/combiners, and optical add/drop multiplexer, for example. Optical subcarriers may be transmitted over such connections, each carrying a data stream. The subcarriers may be generated by a combination of a laser and a modulator, such that multiple lasers and modulators are not required, and costs may be reduced. As the bandwidth or capacity requirements of the leaf nodes change, the number of subcarriers, and thus the amount of data provided to each node, may be changed accordingly. Each subcarrier within a dedicated group of subcarriers may carry OAM or control channel information to a corresponding leaf node, and such information may be used by the leaf node to configure the leaf node to have a desired bandwidth or capacity.

Systems and methods for calibrating a Raman amplifier in a photonic line system of an optical network are provided. A method, according to one implementation, includes the step of setting the gain of a plurality of pump lasers of a Raman amplifier to a safe level. For example, the pump lasers are configured to operate at different wavelengths. Also, the Raman amplifier is connected to a fiber span having a specific fiber-type. The safe can be defined as a level that keeps adverse intermodulation effects below a predetermined threshold regardless of the specific fiber-type. In addition, the method includes the step of increasing the gain of the pump lasers without prior knowledge of the specific fiber-type of the fiber span while keeping the adverse intermodulation effects below the predetermined threshold.

Disclosed is a multi-channel optical signal generating apparatus, which includes a CW laser that generates a single optical signal, an optical signal processor unit that processes the single optical signal, an oscillator that generates an electrical signal, and an electrical signal processor unit that generates a modulation signal, based on the electrical signal, and the optical signal processor unit includes ‘n’ optical circulators, at least one optical intensity modulator, (m-1) optical phase modulators, and ‘n’ BiODLs, the electrical signal processor unit includes a RF power divider which divides the electrical signal, and ‘m’ RF power amplifiers, the RF power divider divides the electrical signal into ‘m’ divided electrical signals, and the optical signal processor unit modulates and outputs the single optical signal by the at least one optical intensity modulator and the (m-1) optical phase modulators, based on the ‘m’ divided electrical signals divided from the RF power divider.

An apparatus for generating a time-delayed product of two independent signals includes a fixed-wavelength laser. A first optical modulator is optically coupled to the fixed-wavelength laser and configured to modulate a fixed wavelength optical carrier with a first input signal of a set of input signals. The apparatus also includes a tunable laser. A second optical modulator is optically coupled to the tunable laser and configured to modulate a tunable optical carrier with a second input signal of the set of input signals. The apparatus also includes a dispersive element coupled to the second optical modulator, a first optical detector coupled to the dispersive element, a third optical modulator optically coupled to the first optical detector and the first optical modulator, an optical 90-degree hybrid element optically coupled to the third optical modulator, and a plurality of optical detectors optically coupled to the optical 90-degree hybrid element.

An injection locked transmitter for an optical communication network includes a master seed laser source input substantially confined to a single longitudinal mode, an input data stream, and a laser injected modulator including at least one slave laser having a resonator frequency that is injection locked to a frequency of the single longitudinal mode of the master seed laser source. The laser injected modulator is configured to receive the master seed laser source input and the input data stream, and output a laser modulated data stream.

A sourceless co-packaged optical-electrical chip can include a plurality of different optical transceivers, each of which can transmit to an external destination or internal components. Each of the transceivers can be configured for a different modulation format, such as different pulse amplitude, phase shift key, and quadrature amplitude modulation formats. Different light sources provide light for processing by the transceivers, where the light source and transceivers can be configured for different applications (e.g., different distances) and data rates. An optical coupler can combine the light for the different transceivers for input into the sourceless co-packaged optical-electrical chip via a polarization maintaining media (e.g., polarization maintaining few mode fiber and polarization maintaining single mode fiber), where another coupler operates in splitting mode to separate the different channels of light for the different transceivers according to different co-packaged configurations.

A method for generating frequency converted laser radiation is disclosed. The disclosure provides a method enabling generation of a frequency converted wavelength division multiplexed light source that is easy to implement at low cost. Adjustment of the center frequency and the mode spacing in a frequency converted wavelength division multiplexed light source is also disclosed. A related method of use discloses generating pump laser radiation through combination of multiple pump sources in a wavelength division multiplexed arrangement; passing the pump laser radiation through the non-linear medium of a singly resonant, single-frequency optical parametric oscillator, wherein the pump laser radiation is continuous wave or pulsed, wherein the pulse duration in the latter case is longer than the time the optical parametric oscillation requires to reach its steady state; and coupling out the non-resonant idler or signal laser radiation from the optical parametric oscillator as usable frequency converted laser radiation. Moreover, the invention relates to a laser device for carrying out the method of the invention.

Systems and methods for providing dispersion compensation to optical systems. In some embodiments, the disclosed dispersion compensation system may be capable of adjusting the amount of dispersion compensation. The disclosed dispersion compensation system may include a cascade of varactor circuit elements, each with separate bias control, and optionally may include one or more switches to enable or disable selective ones of the cascaded varactor circuit elements.

A system, apparatus, and method for demodulation of a fiber optic sensor is provided. An aspect of the system provides an optical fiber, a laser, a phase modulator configured to be coupled to the optical fiber, and a sensor. The laser emits a laser beam into the optical fiber. The phase modulator receives the laser beam from the laser and directs the laser beam to the sensor. The sensor includes a coiled portion of the optical fiber, uncoiled segments adjacent the coiled portion, and at least two fiber Bragg gratings configured to be coupled to opposite uncoiled segments adjacent the coiled portion of the optical fiber. The sensor system may further include a photodetector configured to receive a reflected portion of the laser beam from the sensor. The reflected portion is divided into at least two paths where at least two sub-outputs are generated for demodulation and sensing.