Patent ID: 7155085

Claim:
An integrated optical device configured to multiplex or demultiplex a multi-component optical signal incident upon an input face of said device, said device comprising: a waveguide body configured to permit propagation of said optical signal, wherein at least a substantial portion of said waveguide body comprises an optical amplification medium; a spectral combiner/divider near a boundary of said waveguide body, wherein said spectral combiner/divider is configured such that a spatial distribution of an optical signal propagating to and from said spectral combiner/divider lies in the plane of said waveguide body and is a function of respective component wavelengths of said multi-component optical signal, and a substantial portion of said optical signal propagates through said optical amplification medium; and a primary input/output channel defined in said waveguide body and a set of displaced input/output channels defined in said waveguide body, wherein a displacement of each of said displaced input/output channels from said primary input/output channel is defined at least in part by said spectral combiner/divider.