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Abstract

An optical device has an optical switching unit and a variable filter, the optical switching unit connects a pair of single direction optical transmission lines to a bi-directional optical transmission line carrying optical signals of different wavelengths in different directions relative to the optical switching unit. The single direction optical transmission lines carry optical signals in single different directions relative to the optical switching unit. The variable filter has first and second opposing terminal pairs such that optical signals of different wavelengths input to one terminal of one terminal pair are filtered with a portion of the different wavelengths being output to one terminal of the opposing terminal pair and the remainder of the different wavelengths being output to the other terminal of the opposing terminal pair. The bi-directional optical transmission line is coupled to one terminal of the variable filter. The optical switching unit may include an optical circulator. The variable filter may be an acousto-optic tunable filter. The optical device have a pair of optical switching units respectively connecting two pairs of single direction optical transmission lines to two opposing terminals of the variable filter through two bi-directional optical transmission lines.

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