Bidirectional optical amplification system

Details Bidirectional optical amplification system Bidirectional optical amplification system

1999-02-16

2001-01-09

Hellner, Mark (Department: 3662)

Optical: systems and elements

Optical amplifier

Optical fiber

C359S199200

Reexamination Certificate

active

06172802

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a bidirectional optical amplification system and in particular to a system making it possible, via one and the same optical guide, to transmit optical waves in both directions and to amplify them.
This system applies in particular to transmission on single-mode optical fibres using amplifiers having doped fibre. It allows an intrinsically monodirectional optical amplifier to be made into a bidirectional amplifier. Any existing monodirectional optical transmission can thus be transformed simply, rapidly and cheaply into a multichannel bidirectional transmission.
The device employs existing technologies; it is monobloc and easily insertable, by simple disconnection and reconnection of the optical amplifiers, into an optical transmission.
The areas of application are mainly telecommunications and fibre-optic distribution networks.
2. Discussion of the Background
Fibre-optic transmissions are making ever greater use of optical amplifiers having doped fibre in replacement of the repeaters used formerly and of wavelength multiplexing to multiply the number of channels which can be conveyed within one and the same fibre (see French patent No. 2 258 751).
FIGS. 1 and 2
show the optical transmission diagrams currently used in the areas of telecommunications and distribution networks.
Transmissions in the reverse direction are customarily carried out by twinning the transmission lines.
The optical amplifiers having doped fibre which are ordinarily used, such as the one represented in
FIG. 3
, are monodirectional on account of their design and of the presence of optical isolators; hence, they do not make it possible to carry out bidirectional transmissions based on optical multiplexing.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a system carrying out such bidirectional transmission.
The invention therefore relates to a bidirectional optical amplification system comprising an optical amplifier possessing an input and an output and making it possible to amplify wavelengths lying within a first range of wavelengths, characterized in that it comprises an optical coupling device possessing:
a first port designed to receive a first optical wave in a second range of wavelengths lying within the first range of wavelengths;
a second port designed to receive a second optical wave in a third range of wavelengths also lying within the first range of wavelengths;
an output coupled to the input of the optical amplifier;
an input coupled to the output of the optical amplifier;
the said device making it possible:
to direct the first optical wave (s&lgr;
1
) from the first port to the output of the device;
to direct the amplified optical wave resulting from the amplification of the first optical wave, from the input of the coupling device to the second port;
to direct the second optical wave from the second port to the output of the coupling device;
to direct the amplified optical wave resulting from the amplification of the second optical wave, from the input of the coupling device to the first port.


REFERENCES:
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patent: 5740289 (1998-04-01), Glance
patent: 5748363 (1998-05-01), Duck et al.
patent: 5801879 (1998-09-01), Burton et al.
patent: 5995259 (1999-11-01), Meli et al.

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