Patent ID: 6847763

Claim:
A colorless tunable dispersion compensator for use with an optical transmission channel operating at any wavelength λ i within a wavelength range λ 1 -λ N of a multi-channel system, the colorless tunable dispersion compensator comprising a plurality of N separate dispersion compensation elements, each centered at a separate one of the system wavelengths λ 1 -λ N ; a single tuning element, coupled to each element of the plurality of N separate dispersion compensation elements to provide simultaneous dispersion tuning to said plurality of N separate dispersion compensation elements; and a 1-out-of-N selector coupled at its input to the plurality of N separate dispersion compensation elements and controlled by a wavelength selection signal for choosing a particular element for use with the channel operating at a wavelength λ i and coupling the chosen element to the output of the 1-out-of-N selector.