Patent ID: 7321704
Filing Date: 2008-01-22
Classification: G02B,H04Q

Abstract:
1. A wavelength cross connect comprising: at least one waveguide device; at least one input port, each input port for launching an input optical signal including at least one wavelength channel into the at least one waveguide device; for each input port, a respective input dispersive arrangement, including an arrayed waveguide grating for dispersing the input optical signals out of the at least one waveguide device according to wavelength; a plurality of output ports for outputting selected wavelength channels from the at least one waveguide device; for each output port, a respective output dispersive arrangement, including an arrayed waveguide grating, that multiplexes any wavelength channels re-directed towards the respective output dispersive arrangement; and a plurality of routing elements separate from the at least one waveguide device for re-directing wavelength channels between the at least one input dispersive arrangement and any one of the plurality of output dispersive arrangements; wherein at least two of the output ports are configured to have differing performances through selection of respective dispersive arrangements having differing characteristics; and wherein the differing characteristics are selected from the group consisting of: arrayed waveguide gratings having at least two different path length differences; arrayed waveguide gratings having at least two different waveguide spacings in a waveguide array output facet; arrayed waveguide gratings having at least two differing numbers of waveguides lit; and slab waveguides that truncate a beam emitted in a front slab region in a dispersive arrangement so that only a central portion of the beam couples to the arrayed waveguide grating.