Christopher A Lin

US Patent:

6556766, Apr 29, 2003

Filed:

Jun 26, 2001

Appl. No.:

09/893195

Inventors:

Eric Chiu Tat Cheung - Torrance CA
Christopher Lin - Richmond CA
Yongsheng Liu - San Jose CA
Xuefeng Yue - Mt. View CA

Assignee:

Avanex Corporation - Fremont CA

International Classification:

G02B 600

US Classification:

385140, 385 31, 385 18, 385 37

Abstract:

A dynamic gain equalizer (DGE) includes: a mirror; an electrode; and a lever with a first end and a second end opposite to the first end, where the lever is capable of rotating about a fulcrum, where the lever rotates the first end toward the electrode when the electrode is charged such that the second end blocks a portion of a channel from reaching the mirror, where an unblocked portion of the channel is reflected by the mirror. By manipulating the charge on the electrode, the rotation of the lever is controlled, determining how much of the light is blocked by the lever. Each lever in an array can attenuate a channel or a group of channels of a composite optical signal by a different amount. The DGE provides a significant range of blockage and can be closely spaced. It provides ease in integrating channel monitoring into the DGE.