Patent ID: 7031613

Claim:
In a WDM communication system, apparatus for terminating a WDM link comprising: a splitter splitting a WDM signal on said WDM link into a first portion and a second portion; a circulator receiving the first portion; a first dispersion compensating element that compensates dispersion of a first subband of the first portion, said first subband comprising a first group of adjacent channels of said WDM signal, said first dispersion compensating element comprising a dispersion fiber grating coupled to said circulator; a first demultiplexer that demultiplexes said first group of channels onto separate fibers for each channel following dispersion compensation by said first dispersion compensating element; a second demultiplexer that demultiplexes a second subband of said first portion onto separate fibers for each channel, said second subband comprising a second group of adjacent channels and not overlapping said first subband, said second demultiplexer serially coupled to said circulator after said first dispersion compensating element.