When a first connection number of a b-th output port in an a-th wavelength selective switch connected to paths in one side out of a Drop side and an Add side is expressed by f(a, b, k), and a second connection number of a d-th output port in a c-th wavelength selective switch connected to paths in the other side out of the Drop side and the Add side is expressed by g(c, d, k), f(a, b, k)≠g(c, d, k).

Described herein is a calibration system (25) for a wavelength selective switch (1). The switch (1) is adapted for dynamically switching optical beams (5, 7) along respective trajectories between input and output ports disposed in an array (3) using a reconfigurable Liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) spatial light modulator device (17). The calibration system (25) includes a monitor (27) for projecting an optical monitor beam (29) through at least a portion of the switch (1) onto the LCOS (17) and detecting the monitor beam (29) reflected from the LCOS (17). In response, system (25) provides a calibration signal (33) to an active correction unit (35) for applying a correction to one or more of the trajectories while maintaining a constant switching state in the LCOS (17).

An optical routing device that includes a mounting component which includes a rechargeable battery and a processor that communicates over-the-air with a master communication device or one or more service communication devices via one or more RF supervisory links. The processor receives an instruction via the one or more RF supervisory links to control a movement of the mounting component along with the optical routing component such that an angle or a direction of deflection of one or more laser beams from an optical routing component of the optical routing device is changed. The optical routing component includes one or more laser beam handling regions configured to handle a plurality of laser beams concurrently in which a first laser beam is deflected via a first region for downstream data communication in downstream path and a second laser beam is deflected via a second region for upstream data communication in upstream path.

A system for efficiently interconnecting computing nodes can include a plurality of computing nodes and a plurality of network switches coupled in parallel to the plurality of computing nodes. The system can also include a plurality of node interfaces. Each computing node among the plurality of computing nodes can include at least one node interface for each network switch among the plurality of network switches. The plurality of node interfaces corresponding to a computing node can be configured to send data to another computing node via the plurality of network switches. The system can also include a plurality of switch interfaces. Each network switch among the plurality of network switches can include at least one switch interface for each computing node among the plurality of computing nodes. A switch interface corresponding to the computing node can be coupled to a node interface corresponding to the computing node.

An optical device includes: wavelength selection elements; an optical switch that switches a propagation path of input light that is from an input port such that the input light propagates to one designated wavelength selection element among the wavelength selection elements; and a separation element disposed in the propagation path of the input light between the input port and the wavelength selection elements and that separates the input light into wavelength components.

An optical switching unit comprising: a plurality of arrays of multiple optical waveguides; and a switching structure controllable to direct light received from any of the optical waveguides in a first array of the plurality of arrays to one or more optical waveguides of each other array in the plurality of arrays.

An apparatus for providing multicore fiber (OCF) optical switching is disclosed. The apparatus may include an input fiber to receive an optical signal from an optical source. The apparatus may also include an output fiber to receive the optical signal from the input fiber. The apparatus may further include an optical switch element to provide optical switching between the input fiber and the output fiber. In some examples, at least one of the input fiber and the output fiber may be a multicore fiber (MCF), and the optical switching may be performed between at least one core of the input fiber and the output fiber. In some examples, the optical switch element may provide optical switching using a multicore fiber (MCF) optical switching technique, such as a lens offset technique, a rotation-based technique, a tip-tilt technique, or an orientable optical element technique.

This application provides example optical switching methods and example apparatuses. One example method includes generating K images that are consecutive in time sequence, where a first wavelength channel and at least one second wavelength channel are switched to a blocking state through a same image in the K images, and a value of K depends on a quantity of times that attenuation adjustment is performed for switching the first wavelength channel from a normal state to the blocking state. Information about the K images can then be sent to an optical switching element to enable the optical switching element to perform attenuation adjustment on the first wavelength channel and the at least one second wavelength channel.

The technology described herein relates to a wavelength selective switch (WSS). An output port arrangement solution of an optical fiber array of the WSS includes: centers of output ports are arranged along a curve or along a combination line that includes a line segment, and a straight line connecting centers of any two output ports on the curve or the combination line does not pass through an input port. A light beam received from the input port is diffracted to the output ports through an LCoS panel, and a straight line that all diffraction orders that are generated after the diffraction pass through intersects with the curve or the line segment, and there is only one intersection point.

A wavelength selective switch (WSS) apparatus. The WSS apparatus includes: a plurality of input/output port groups; a plurality of switching lens parts; a plurality of wedge prism parts; a beam expansion part; a wavelength dispersion part; a path combining part configured to combine the groups of the plurality of light beams transmitted from the switching lens parts on the dispersion axis; an imaging optic part; and a switching unit including a plurality of surface areas corresponding to the plurality of input/output port groups, the switching unit being configured to angular displace an angle of a selected wavelength on the switching axis such that the wavelength selected from multiple wavelength channels of an input port selected independently for each of the plurality of input/output port groups is transmitted to an output port of the plurality of input/output port groups selected independently.