RECONFIGURABLE OPTICAL NETWORKS

1 . A system comprising:

a first plurality of separate sets of optical ring resonators;

a second plurality of separate sets of optical ring resonators; and

an optical multiplexer/demultiplexer having a set of optical inputs and a set of optical outputs; and wherein:

each set of the first plurality of separate sets is optically connected to a corresponding one of the optical inputs of the optical multiplexer/demultiplexer; and

each set of the second plurality of separate sets is optically connected to a corresponding one of the optical outputs of the optical multiplexer/demultiplexer.

2 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of first devices, each first device being connected to modulate digital data streams onto optical carriers via the ring resonators of a corresponding one of the sets of the first plurality.

3 . The system of claim 2 , further comprising a plurality of first apparatuses, each first apparatus being connected to demodulate digital data streams from optical carriers via the ring resonators of a corresponding one of the sets of the second plurality.

4 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of first apparatuses, each first apparatus being connected to demodulate digital data streams from optical carriers via the ring resonators of a corresponding one of the sets of the second plurality.

5 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising an electronic controller capable of separately adjusting resonant frequencies of some of the ring resonators of the sets of the first plurality.

6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the electronic controller is capable of separately adjusting resonant frequencies of some of the ring resonators of the sets of the second plurality.

7 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising:

a plurality of first optical fibers, each first optical fiber connecting a corresponding one of the sets of the first plurality to a multi-wavelength channel optical source.

8 . The system of claim 7 , wherein each first optical fiber connects to a corresponding one of the optical inputs of the optical multiplexer/demultiplexer.

9 . A system, comprising:

an input waveguide optically connected to an input of an optical demultiplexer; and

a first microcavity resonator set including a plurality of microcavity resonators located adjacent said input waveguide such that each microcavity resonator is able to couple to a corresponding one of a plurality of wavelength channels of an optical signal propagating within said input waveguide.

10 . The system of claim 9 , further comprising a plurality of output waveguides, each output waveguide being optically connected to a corresponding optical output of said wavelength demultiplexer.

11 . The system of claim 10 , further comprising a plurality of output microcavity resonator sets each including a corresponding plurality of microcavity resonators, each microcavity resonator set being optically coupled to a corresponding one of said output waveguides, the microcavity resonators of each output set being able to separately couple to wavelength channels of an optical signal propagating within said corresponding one of the output waveguides.

12 . The system of claim 11 , further comprising a plurality of optoelectric transducers, each of said transducers being optically coupled to convert an optical signal within a corresponding one of said output microcavity resonators to an electrical signal.

13 . The system of claim 9 , wherein said wavelength demultiplexer comprises an arrayed waveguide grating.

14 . The system of claim 9 , further comprising control electronics configured to control a resonant frequency of said microcavity resonators.

15 . The system of claim 9 , wherein said wavelength demultiplexer is a wavelength-cyclic optical demultiplexer.

16 . The system of claim 9 , wherein said each microcavity resonator of said plurality of microcavity resonators is a ring resonator.

17 . A method comprising:

providing an input waveguide optically connected to a wavelength demultiplexer; and

providing a first input microcavity resonator set including a plurality of microcavity resonators located adjacent said input waveguide such that each microcavity resonator is able to couple to a corresponding one of a plurality of wavelength channels propagating within said input waveguide.

18 . The method of claim 17 , further comprising providing a plurality of output waveguides optically connected to said wavelength demultiplexer.

19 . The method of claim 18 , further comprising providing a plurality of output microcavity resonator sets each including a corresponding plurality of microcavity resonators, each microcavity resonator set being optically coupled to a corresponding one of said output waveguides.

20 . The method of claim 19 , further comprising providing a plurality of optoelectric transducers, each of said transducers being optically coupled to a corresponding one of said microcavity resonators.

21 . The method of claim 17 , wherein said wavelength demultiplexer comprises an arrayed waveguide grating.

22 . The method of claim 17 , further comprising providing control electronics configured to modulate a resonant frequency of some of said microcavity resonators.

23 . The method of claim 17 , wherein said microcavity resonators are ring resonators.

24 . A method, comprising:

providing a first substrate having an input waveguide optically connected to a wavelength demultiplexer, and a first input microcavity resonator set including a plurality of microcavity resonators located adjacent said input waveguide, each of said microcavity resonators being configured to couple to a different frequency of an optical signal propagating within the input waveguide;

providing a second substrate having an electronic controller formed thereover, said controller configured to control said microcavity resonators to controllably couple to a corresponding one of the frequency channels; and

joining said first and second substrates thereby connecting said controller to said microcavity resonators.