| US 7,551,855 B2 | ||
| D(WDM) communications network employing periodic spectral multiplex processing | ||
| Thierry Zami, Massy (France); and François Dorgeuille, Paris (France) | ||
| Assigned to Alcatel, Paris (France) | ||
| Filed on Nov. 14, 2005, as Appl. No. 11/271,842. | ||
| Claims priority of application No. 04 52614 (FR), filed on Nov. 15, 2004. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2006/0104639 A1, May 18, 2006 | ||
| Int. Cl. H04J 14/00 (2006.01); H04J 14/02 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 398—82 [398/91; 398/67; 398/70] | 22 Claims |

| 1. A wavelength division multiplex optical network, having a plurality of communications stations, the wavelength division
multiplex optical network comprising:
an optical fiber connected to a hub via at least one of an input of a demultiplexer having N outputs and an output of a multiplexer
having N inputs;
a first communications station which processes spectral multiplexes of modulated optical signals having different wavelengths
via a first type coupling means; and
a second communications station which processes spectral multiplexes of modulated optical signals having different wavelengths
via a second type coupling means,
wherein said first and second communications stations process spectral multiplexes of modulated optical signals from a given
one of P disjoint bands of wavelengths,
wherein said first type coupling means is at least one of a 2×1 band multiplexer and demultiplexer comprising:
at least one of an output and input connected to a downstream portion of said optical fiber;
at least one of a first input and a first output connected to said first communications station which uses a band of wavelengths
from among the P disjoint bands of wavelengths; and
at least one of a second input and a second output connected to an upstream portion of said optical fiber which uses channels
having wavelengths different from wavelengths of channels passing through the at least one of said first input and said first
output,
wherein said at least one of a demultiplexer and multiplexer is of periodic type which processes at the at least one of N
outputs and inputs channels of wavelengths that belong to distinct sets of P wavelengths, each wavelength of a set belonging
to a distinct band of said P disjoint bands of wavelengths, and
wherein N and P are integers.
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