[c-nsp] [OT] Driving 1310nm optics through 1550nm circulators

[Justin Shore]

Mikael Abrahamsson wrote:
> On Wed, 9 Jan 2008, Gert Doering wrote:
> 
>> What are "optical circulators"?
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_circulator
> 
> "An optical circulator is a special fiber-optic component that can be 
> used to separate optical powers that travel in opposite directions in 
> one single optical fiber, analogous to the operation of an electronic 
> circulator. An optical circulator is a three-port device that allows 
> light to travel in only one direction—from port 1 to port 2, then from 
> port 2 to port 3. This means that if some of the light emitted from port 
> 2 is reflected back to the circulator, it is directed not back to port 
> 1, but on to port 3. Circulators can also be used to achieve 
> bi-directional transmission over a single fiber. Because of its high 
> isolation of the input and reflected optical powers and its low 
> insertion loss, optical circulators are widely used in advanced 
> communication systems and fiber-optic sensor applications."

I may be over-simplifying this a bit but this description of an optical 
circulator read like it's a manual WDM implementation.  Is that correct?

Justin