Patent ID: 6317252
Filing Date: 2001-11-13
Classification: G02F,H01S,H04B,H04J

Abstract:
A semiconductor optical system for copying a desired optical channel among a plurality of optical channels, comprising:a non-linear optical mixing medium receiving said optical channel and operable to mix said optical channel with a pump wave at a pump frequency to produce a signal at a converted frequency associated with a channel frequency of said optical channel and said pump frequency;a laser cavity configured to enclose said mixing medium and have a plurality of resonant frequencies, said laser cavity having a first reflector on one side of said mixing medium that reflects optical waves at said channel frequency, said converted frequency, and said pump frequency, and a second reflector on another side of said mixing medium to receive said optical channel, wherein said second reflector has a high reflectivity at said converted frequency and transmits light at any wavelength different from said converted frequency;a pump laser, producing said pump wave different than a desired optical channel to be copied, and injecting said pump laser into said mixing medium within said laser cavity, said pump laser being selected such that a mixing action between said pump wave and said desired channel produces a frequency shifted copy of said optical channel at said converted frequency at or near a resonant frequency of said laser cavity, wherein said laser cavity is operable to amplify optical energy at said converted frequency and transmit said optical channel and a portion of amplified optical energy at said converted frequency as a copied signal through said second reflector; anda frequency selective device coupled to receive said optical channel and said copied signal from said second reflector and operable to separate said optical channel from said copied signal at said converted frequency.