A Selective-Broadcast Passive Star Coupler for Self-Routing Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexed Optical Networks

In this work, we describe a technique for design and implementation of a selective-broadcast passive optical star coupler that uses a space-varying refractive-index slab. In the design fabric of this bandwidth-selective coupler we can incorporate a network traffic routing matrix. The matrix may resemble any desired physical cross connection for routing users traffic. As an example, we describe a shuffle-exchange [1] cross-connect implementation in detail. We show how this specific routing matrix can be built into the coupler fabric. Such a coupler has application in dense wavelength division multiplexed optical passive star networks where a selective or limited-broadcast coupling capability is desirable, e.g., for video on demand services.