Patent ID: 8295661
Filing Date: 2012-10-23
Classification: G02B

Abstract:
1. An optical system, comprising: a first waveguide configured to support a first and second modes of an optical input signal, the second mode being of a higher order than the first mode; a second waveguide having an input configured to receive a portion of the optical input signal; a dispersion element disposed along a length of one of the first and second waveguides, the dispersive element including a waveguide segment configured to induce a first frequency-dependent phase shift in one of the portions of the optical input signal; a coupler configured to couple the portion of the optical input signal from the second waveguide into the first waveguide, the coupling of the portion of the optical input signal from the second waveguide into the first waveguide exciting the second mode of the optical input signal and generating a multimode optical signal that includes a plurality of modes; and an arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) in signal communication with an output of the first waveguide, the AWG configured to receive multimode optical signal from the output of the input waveguide.