Key Design Benefits of TI Analog Mirrors in OCMs

• Low insertion loss maintains optimal optical power for high resolution channel measurements at more signal nodes.
• Wide range of mechanical rotation allows a single mirror to serially select multiple channels for cost-effective system design.
• Straightforward drive requirements enables faster, more efficient development time.

Optical Channel Monitors (OCMs) take a banded DWDM network signal and measure performance parameters for individual channels such as optical power levels and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). While monitoring is necessary to ensure continued high network performance, each measurement requires a signal tap and degrades the network signal’s optical strength. Network operators must consider these parasitic effects and balance between the optimal number of monitoring sites and overall network strength. TI Analog Mirrors enable products that allow network operators to place OCMs at more locations along the network signal chain without consideration of optical amplifier placement by consuming minimal signal power. Optical Channel Monitors are often an integral part of Reconfigurable Optical Add/Drop Multiplexers. Check out the ROADM example to learn how TI Analog Mirrors can enable wavelength-selective switching in optical networking.

In an Optical Channel Monitor using a TI Analog Mirror, the system separates out the network signal into its individual channels using an optical grating surface. With just a single dual-axis TI Analog Mirror, the OCM can steer each channel serially onto a single detector by changing the mirror’s tilt angle to match each frequency position. The mirror’s low insertion loss maintains the channel’s optical power for high resolution measurements for a powerful and cost-effective channel monitoring solution with flexible deployment options and lower operating costs. Check out the TALP1000B product details for an example of a TI Analog Mirror suitable for this application.