A wavelength selective switch includes an optical fiber array, a multiplexing/demultiplexing component, and a transmission direction adjustment component. The optical fiber array includes a first optical fiber and at least one second optical fiber. The first offset is used to compensate for a second offset of a diffraction spectrum generated when a plurality of single-wavelength optical signals obtained after an optical input signal is processed by the multiplexing/demultiplexing component arrive at the transmission direction adjustment component, so that the second offset of the diffraction spectrum of the plurality of single-wavelength optical signals arriving at the transmission direction adjustment component is 0 or may be ignored. An optical system has a simple structure, and no optical element needs to be added. This increases optical design freedom, facilitates optical path system commissioning, and reduces reliability risks and costs of subsequent products.

A highly scalable and modular automated optical cross connect switch devices which exhibit low loss and scalability to high port counts. A device for the programmable interconnection of large numbers of optical fibers (100s-1000s) is provided, whereby a two-dimensional array of fiber optic connections is mapped in an ordered and rule-based fashion into a one-dimensional array with tensioned fiber optic circuit elements tracing substantially straight lines there between. Fiber optic elements are terminated in a stacked arrangement of flexible fiber optic circuit elements with a capacity to retain excess fiber lengths while maintaining an adequate bend radius. The combination of these elements partitions the switch volume into multiple independent, non-interfering zones, which retain their independence for arbitrary and unlimited numbers of reconfigurations. The separation into spaced-apart zones provides clearance for one or more robotic actuators to enter the free volume substantially adjacent to the two-dimensional array of connectors and mechanically reconfigure connectors without interrupting other circuits.

This disclosure relates to counterfeit detection and deterrence using advanced signal processing technology including steganographic embedding and digital watermarking. Digital watermark can be used on consumer products, labels, logos, hang tags, stickers and other objects to provide counterfeit detection mechanisms.

A fast optical (with or without a photonic crystal) switch is fabricated/constructed, utilizing a phase transition material/Mott insulator, activated by either an electrical pulse (a voltage pulse or a current pulse) and/or a light pulse and/or pulses in terahertz (THz) frequency of a suitable field strength and/or hot electrons. The applications of such a fast optical switch for an on-demand optical add-drop subsystem, integrating with (a) a light slowing/light stopping component (based on metamaterials and/or nanoplasmonic structures) and (b) with or without a wavelength converter are also described.

A liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) device includes a silicon substrate and a pair of electrodes including an upper and a lower electrode. The lower electrode is mounted to the silicon substrate and includes a two dimensional array of pixels extending in both a first and second dimension. LCOS device also includes a liquid crystal layer disposed between the upper and lower electrodes and configured to be driveable into a plurality of electrical states by drive signals provided to the pixels of the lower electrode. The pixels are rectangular in profile having longer sides in the first dimension than in the second dimension. Further, the two dimensional array includes a pixel pitch that is greater in the first dimension than in the second dimension.

This application provides an optical switching apparatus. Input ports are configured to input a first beam into a dispersion assembly at a first angle of incidence in a first direction, the input ports are further configured to input a second beam into the dispersion assembly at a second angle of incidence in the first direction, and a difference between absolute values of the first angle of incidence and the second angle of incidence is not zero. The difference between the absolute values of the first angle of incidence and the second angle of incidence enables a first region in which spots of the first beam are arranged and a second region in which spots of the second beam are arranged to be separated from each other in the first direction, and enables the first region and the second region to at least partially overlap in a second direction.

The present disclosure provides example wavelength selective switch (WSS), wavefront control element, and integrated liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS). One example WSS includes an input port fiber array, a demultiplexing/multiplexing grating group, an output port fiber array, and a beam deflection component group including two beam deflection components and at least one wavefront control element located between the demultiplexing/multiplexing grating group and the beam deflection component group or integrated with the LCoS. At least one beam deflection component is a LCoS. The input port fiber array receives multi-wavelength optical signals. The demultiplexing/multiplexing grating group demultiplexes and outputs the multi-wavelength optical signals. The beam deflection component group deflects the multi-wavelength optical signals to the demultiplexing/multiplexing grating group. The demultiplexing/multiplexing grating group multiplexes the multi-wavelength optical signals to the output port fiber array. The wavefront control element and the LCoS jointly modulate optical signals transmitted through N*M wavelength channels.

An optical switching apparatus includes an input port, a dispersion component, a first filter, a redirection component, and output ports. The input port enables a first and a second beam to be incident onto the dispersion component, which decomposes the first and the second beams respectively into a plurality of first and second sub-beams, where the plurality of first sub-beams and second sub-beams belong to different bands. The first filter separates transmission directions of the plurality of first and second sub-beams into different transmission directions in a first direction (X) based on the different bands, enables the plurality of first and second sub-beams respectively to be incident onto a first area and a second area of the redirection component, where the first and second areas are separated in the first direction.

Waveguide shuffle blocks (WSBs) are provided that may incorporate waveguides routed in any pattern to effectuate many-to-many connectivity between optical cables/fibers or other WSBs connected thereto. Such WSBs may be configured in ways that allow the WSBs to be stacked and to achieve effective optical cable/fiber organization. Moreover, such WSBs may include readable tags that can provide information regarding a particular WSB configuration and/or what optical cables/fibers are connected so that network topology can be discovered and monitored. Some WSBs may be configured as wavelength shifting shuffles (WSSs) that allow a particular wavelength(s) of an optical signal(s) to be routed as desired and/or alter a first wavelength associated with a particular optical signal to a second wavelength. In other embodiments WSSs can be configured to allow for wavelength multiplexing/demultiplexing.

In one embodiment, a silicon photonic integrated circuit (PIC) includes a pair of Mach-Zehnder Interferometers (MZI) with a phase shifter to function as a 1x2 optical switches. On one path between the MZIs is a wavelength interleaver. The MZI switch can be controlled to either an all-pass mode or a by-pass mode, therefore setting configurable optical demultiplexing bandwidths to support dual 1.6 T FR8/800G FR4 network backward compatibility. The configurable multiplexer operates at set-and-forget mode for the entire operating temperature and the product’s lifetime.