Patent ID: 8731402

Claim:
An orthogonally-combining wavelength selective switch (WSS) multiplexer comprising: first and second optical input ports configured to receive first and second sets of multiplexed wavelengths; first and second wavelength demultiplexers configured to demultiplex the first and second sets of multiplexed wavelengths, respectively; a switch fabric configured to selectively route wavelengths demultiplexed from the first and second sets of wavelengths; polarization optics configured to provide wavelengths in the first set of wavelengths with a first polarization and wavelengths in the second set of wavelengths with a second polarization, the first and second polarizations being substantially orthogonal; a wavelength multiplexer configured to multiplex routed wavelengths with the first and second polarizations to produce pre-filtered, pair-wise orthogonal aggregate channel wavelengths; and a combined channel optical output port configured to output the pair-wise orthogonal aggregate channel wavelengths.