Patent ID: 11968034
Assignee: X DEVELOPMENT LLC
Field: Telecommunications (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC H  G | IPC G  H

Claim 13:
14. A photonic device, comprising:
a plurality of input regions adapted to receive a plurality of distinct channels characterized by respective distinct wavelengths;
a dispersive region, optically coupled with the plurality of input regions to receive respective distinct channels of the plurality of distinct channels, the dispersive region including a plurality of sub-regions defined by an inhomogeneous arrangement of a first material and a second material; and
an output region, optically coupled with the plurality of input regions via the dispersive region;
wherein:
the plurality of sub-regions include one or more coupler sections, one or more branching sections, and an output channel section;
the plurality of sub-regions together configure the photonic device to multiplex at least a subset of the plurality of distinct channels and to provide a multiplexed output signal at the output region; and
the one or more coupler sections includes a first coupler section, the first coupler section including a channel of the first material, wherein the first coupler section is optically coupled to a first branching section included in the one or more branching sections, and wherein the channel of the first material branches into at least two separate channels of the first material within the first branching section.