Optical Switching Device with Reconfigurable Channel Spacing

Abstract

An optical switching device includes an array of liquid crystal macropixels, wherein each macropixel includes at least two liquid crystal subpixels. The subpixels may be controlled together to act as a single polarizing pixel, or independently to act as multiple polarizing pixels. When the switching device processes a WDM having a wide channel spacing, the subpixels are controlled together, and when the switching device processes a WDM having a narrow channel spacing, each subpixel is controlled independently.

1 - 5 . (canceled) 
     
     
         6 . An optical switching device for switching a number of channels in a wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) signal, the device comprising:
 an array of pixels each of which is independently controllable and configurable to process channels in the WDM signal having a first channel spacing and a second channel spacing that is different from the first channel spacing,   wherein, when the pixels are configured to process channels having the first channel spacing, one or more groups of adjacent pixels are controlled in unison, and when the pixels are configured to process channels having the second channel spacing, each pixel in the one or more groups of adjacent pixels is independently controlled.   
     
     
         7 . The optical switching device of  claim 6 , wherein the first channel spacing is wider than the second channel spacing. 
     
     
         8 . The optical switching device of  claim 7 , wherein the first channel spacing is two times the second channel spacing. 
     
     
         9 . The optical switching device of  claim 7 , wherein the first channel spacing is three times the second channel spacing. 
     
     
         10 . The optical switching device of  claim 6 , wherein the number of adjacent pixels in a group that are controlled in unison is dynamically re-configurable. 
     
     
         11 . An optical switching device comprising:
 an optical port for receiving a wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) signal; and   a pixilated element having a plurality of pixels which are controllable individually or as a group of adjacent pixels to process channels of the WDM signal in a dynamically configurable manner.   
     
     
         12 . The optical switching device of  claim 11 , wherein, when the pixels are configured to process channels having a first channel spacing, one or more groups of adjacent pixels are controlled in unison, and when the pixels are configured to process channels having a second channel spacing that is narrower than the first channel spacing, each pixel in the one or more groups of adjacent pixels is independently controlled. 
     
     
         13 . The optical switching device of  claim 12 , wherein the first channel spacing is two times the second channel spacing. 
     
     
         14 . The optical switching device of  claim 12 , wherein the first channel spacing is three times the second channel spacing. 
     
     
         15 . The optical switching device of  claim 11 , wherein the number of adjacent pixels in the group that are controlled in unison is dynamically re-configurable.