Patent ID: 7826748

Claim:
An adaptive gain control method to compensate for an optical signal-to-noise ratio penalty caused by side-lobes created by micro-electromechanical system-based reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexers, comprising: measuring power for each of a plurality of wavelengths at a node; calculating amplified spontaneous emission power located in side-lobes of each of the plurality of wavelengths using a derived formula for a side-lobe penalty based on a micro-electromechanical system-based wavelength selective switch attenuation, wherein the side-lobe penalty is defined as a ratio with amplified spontaneous emission side-lobe divided by without amplified spontaneous emission side-lobe; and for each of the plurality of wavelengths not at a target power value, adjusting power of each of the plurality of wavelengths responsive to the amplified spontaneous emission power located in side-lobes of each of the plurality of wavelengths.