Patent ID: 8380071

Claim:
An optical repeater comprising one or more optical repeater drive circuits, each comprising: a line current path configured to receive line current at an input node, pass the current through the line current path, and pass the line current to an output node, the line current path comprising: a forward laddered array formed of a plurality of banks of two or more parallel diodes that are forward biased in a forward direction from the input node to the output node, each diode in each bank of the plurality of banks in the forward laddered array being in direct electrical contact, without any intervening diodes, with at least one diode in at least one adjacent bank of the plurality of banks in the forward laddered array such that current flowing through one of the plurality of banks may be diverted to another of the plurality of banks while in the midst of the laddered array, and such that if any individual diode in the laddered array were to fail either in open or short circuit, the forward laddered array itself does not fail in open or short circuit; optical repeater control circuitry connected in parallel with the forward laddered array in the line current path between the input node and the output node; and one or more surge coils in series with the one or more optical repeater drive circuits, the one or more surge coils each comprising a substrate formed of an insulating material and first and second magnetically coupled conducting coils embedded within the substrate, wherein the first coil is electrically connected to an electrical input of the optical repeater and the second coil is electrically connected to an electrical output of the optical repeater.