Patent ID: 6628850
Filing Date: 2003-09-30
Classification: G02B,G02F,H04B,H04J

Abstract:
A device, comprising:a plurality of dynamic gratings cascaded in an optical path, each dynamic grating including a fiber having a fiber core and a fiber cladding layer surrounding said fiber core, and a plurality of grating trenches formed in said fiber cladding layer and filled with a dielectric material that is different from said fiber cladding layer, wherein said dielectric material is operable to change a refractive index in response to a control signal to exhibit a first refractive index substantially equal to a refractive index of said fiber cladding layer when said control signal is at a first value and to exhibit a second, different refractive index when said control signal is at a second value; a control unit to produce said control signal to each grating; and an optical detector coupled to receive at least a portion of an optical signal with a plurality of wavelength-division-multiplexed (WDM) channels passing through said plurality of dynamic gratings and operable to measure amplitudes of said WDM channels, wherein said control unit is coupled to receive a detector output representing said measured amplitudes and is operable to control said plurality of dynamic gratings to substantially equalize amplitudes of said WDM channels in response to said measured amplitudes.