Patent ID: 8588620
Filing Date: 2013-11-19
Classification: H04B

Abstract:
1. A plurality of the transmitting architectures, each transmitting architecture for converting a digital, parallel-electronic word, represented by N parallel electronic bits, to a digital, serial-optic word, represented as a serial string of N photonic bits, the transmitting architecture comprising: a transmitting source for the digital, parallel-electronic word of the N parallel electronic bits, each bit being characterized as either an “0” bit or an “1” bit, the source further providing a trigger, synchronized with the digital, parallel-electronic word; a laser pulse source comprising: a laser configured to provide laser beams at a plurality of distinct wavelengths, said laser pulse being adapted for providing, upon request, a laser beam of a distinct wavelength; and a triggering fast optical shutter for producing a primary laser pulse upon receiving the trigger; a laser pulse divider, for receiving and dividing said primary laser pulse to N parallel secondary laser pulses; a vector of N fast optical shutters, each configured for optical communication with one of the N parallel secondary laser pulses and for signal communication with one of the N electronic bits, thereby allowing passage of the secondary laser pulses for any “1” electronic bit and preventing passage for any “0” electronic bit of the digital, parallel-electronic word, thus producing a digital, parallel-optic word, represented as N parallel photonic bits; and a vector of N directional couplers positioned at predetermined transmitting coupling points along a transmitting main waveguide and aligned with the vector of said N fast optical shutters, so as to form a one-to-one correspondence between the fast optical shutters and the directional couplers, wherein transmitting optical path lengths between the transmitting coupling points along the transmitting main waveguide produce serial-optic-word time delays between the individual pulses of the N parallel photonic bits, thus producing the serial string of the N photonic bits, representing the digital, serial-optic word; wherein each of the plurality of transmitting architectures operates at a distinct wavelength, the transmitting main waveguides of each of the plurality of transmitting architectures being in optical communication with one or more common communicating waveguides, for Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) of the digital, serial-optic words, produced by the plurality of the transmitting architectures; said one or more common communicating waveguides include a plurality of communicating waveguides for coupling to each of the transmitting main waveguides via a routing optical switch configured for receiving from the transmitting source of the transmitting architecture associated therewith a “waveguide select” signal and routing the digital, serial-optic word to a specific one of the communicating waveguides.