Patent ID: 7020397

Claim:
An optical retimer for retiming an optical data signal, the optical retimer comprising: an optical switch configured to allow light corresponding to a current bit to enter an optical pathway of the retimer at a specific point in time derived from the clock rate; wherein the optical switch has a first state in which, for a length of time corresponding to some fraction of a clock period, light corresponding to the current bit is allowed to propagate along the optical pathway and light corresponding to a next bit is dumped, and wherein the optical switch has a second state in which, for a length of time corresponding to the remainder of the clock period, light that corresponded to the current bit becomes light corresponding to a previous bit and is dumped and in which light that corresponded to the next bit becomes light that corresponds to the current bit and is allowed to propagate along the pathway for a next clock cycle during which a fraction of the light corresponding to the current bit is out-coupled from the retimer each time the light propagates around the optical pathway; an optical out-coupler that causes a fraction of the light corresponding to the current bit to be out-coupled from the retimer each time the light propagates around the optical pathway; and an amplifier, the amplifier amplifying the light corresponding to the current bit to compensate for the light out-coupled from the retimer, the amplifier amplifying the light each time the light propagates around the optical pathway.