A laser light generator is configured to generate one or more wavelengths of continuous wave laser light. The laser light generator is configured to collectively and simultaneously transmit each of the wavelengths of continuous wave laser light through an optical output of the laser light generator as a laser light supply. An optical fiber is connected to receive the laser light supply from the optical output of the laser light generator. An optical distribution network has an optical input connected to receive the laser light supply from the optical fiber. The optical distribution network is configured to transmit the laser light supply to each of one or more optical transceivers and/or optical sensors. The laser light generator is physically separate from each of the one or more optical transceivers and/or optical sensors.

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.

An optical full-field transmitter (OFFT) includes a plurality of optical circulators and a polarization beam combiner. The plurality of optical circulators are fabricated on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate, where each of the optical circulators has (a) a first port that optically couples to a high-quality optical source, (b) a second port that optically couples to a child laser configured to receive amplitude modulation data, and (c) a third port optically coupled to a phase modulator that (i) is configured to receive a phase modulation data and (ii) includes an output port that outputs amplitude and phase modulated light. The polarization beam combiner receives the amplitude and phase modulated light from each of the optical circulators and outputs combined amplitude and phase modulated light.

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for generating, transmitting, directing, receiving, and processing optical subcarriers. In some implementations, a system includes a Tier 1 switch that supplies a plurality of data channels; a transmitter that receives the plurality of data channels, the transmitter including an optical modulator that supplies a plurality of optical subcarriers based on the plurality of data channels; an optical platform that receives the plurality of optical subcarriers, the optical platform having a plurality of outputs, each of which supplying at least one of the plurality of subcarriers; a plurality of receivers, each receiving one or more of the plurality of optical subcarriers and supplying one or more of the plurality of data channels; and a plurality of servers, each of which receiving one or more of the plurality of data channels.

A cyclic wavelength band permutation device (31) includes as many wavelength band converters (32a to 32c) as the wavelength bands of optical signals (S1, C1, and L1), and the wavelength band converters are individually connected to the output terminals of corresponding optical amplifiers among a plurality of optical amplifiers (17a to 17c) connected to an optical fiber (16) in an inserted manner. When a wavelength-multiplexed signal beam obtained by multiplexing optical signals in different wavelength bands is multiband-transmitted through an optical fiber while being amplified by the plurality of optical amplifiers, each wavelength band converter performs a cyclic permutation process of transitioning or converting an optical signal allocated to the shorter wavelength band side in the bands of the optical fiber to the longer wavelength band side, and also transitioning or converting an optical signal allocated to the longest wavelength band to the shortest wavelength band.

An electro-optical chip includes a plurality of transmit macros, each of which includes an optical waveguide and a plurality of ring resonators positioned along the optical waveguide. An optical distribution network is implemented onboard the electro-optical chip. The optical distribution network has a plurality of optical inputs and a plurality of optical outputs. The optical distribution network conveys a portion of light received at each and every one of the plurality of optical inputs to each of the plurality of optical outputs, such that light conveyed to each of the plurality of optical outputs includes all wavelengths of light conveyed to the plurality of optical inputs. Each of the plurality of optical outputs is optically connected to the optical waveguide in a corresponding one of the plurality of transmit macros. The electro-optical chip is optically connected to a remote optical power supply.

An integrated transmitter chip comprising: at least one input port disposed at a first end of the integrated transmitter chip; a first variable power divider optically connected to each input port of the at least one input port; a second and a third variable power dividers optically branched from each first variable power divider; a first and a second optical channel optically branched from the second variable power divider, a third and a fourth optical channel optically branched from the third variable power divider; and at least one WDM optically attached to corresponding optical channels and configured to selectively modify the polarization of and multiplex corresponding optical signals into a output optical signal, wherein a laser beam is launched into an input port, split by corresponding variable power dividers based upon each dividers corresponding splitting ratio, then multiplexed and combined into an output optical signal having dual polarization modes.

An example system includes a first network device having first circuitry. The first network device is configured to perform operations including receiving data to be transmitted to a second network device over an optical communications network, and transmitting first information and second information to the second device. The first information is indicative of the data, and is transmitted using a first communications link of the optical communications network and using a first subset of optical subcarriers. The second information is indicative of the data, and is transmitted using a second communications link of the optical communications network and using a second subset of optical subcarriers. The first subset of optical subcarriers is different from the second subset of optical subcarriers.

An example system includes a first network device having first circuitry. The first network device is configured to perform operations including receiving data to be transmitted to a second network device over an optical communications network, and transmitting first information and second information to the second device. The first information is indicative of the data, and is transmitted using a first communications link of the optical communications network and using a first subset of optical subcarriers. The second information is indicative of the data, and is transmitted using a second communications link of the optical communications network and using a second subset of optical subcarriers. The first subset of optical subcarriers is different from the second subset of optical subcarriers.

An optical data communication system includes a plurality of resonator structures and a laser array that includes a plurality of lasers optically connected to the plurality of resonator structures. Each resonator structure has a respective free spectral wavelength range and a respective resonance wavelength. A maximum difference in resonance wavelength between any two resonator structures in the plurality of resonator structures is less than a minimum free spectral wavelength range of any resonator structure in the plurality of resonator structures. Each laser in the plurality of lasers is configured to generate continuous wave light having a respective wavelength. The laser array has a central wavelength. A variability of the central wavelength is greater than a minimum difference in resonance wavelength between any two spectrally neighboring resonator structures in the plurality of resonator structures.