Abstract
Tunable filters are very important components in wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) networks.1 Here, we demonstrate a novel filter that consists of two Dragone routers2 or waveguide grating multiplexers integrated with optical amplifiers.3 The first multiplexer separates an incoming signal into its spectral components, which are then either amplified, attenuated or detected by optical amplifiers. A second identical multiplexer recombines the signals from each amplifier into one output port. This device is much more powerful than a simple tunable filter since it provides simultaneous access to all the wavelength channels in a WDM system. Some of them can be passed by the device while others are detected. In addition, their power levels could be rearranged by increasing the gain for the weak channels. One could also envision building a multi-frequency WDM source by modulating the individual spectral components of a broadband input source.
© 1994 Optical Society of America
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