Abstract

Optical filters and in particular optical add/drop multiplexers (OADMs) for single-wavelength bands, are key components of WDM systems. Typically OADMs are designed using Mach-Zehnder Interferometers (MZIs), [1], or optical circulators, [2], using Bragg gratings to provide frequency selection. These device designs are expensive and require sophisticated fabrication/assembly procedures. On the other hand, the multi-channel OADM proposed here is designed to require simple device fabrication, [3], and, most importantly, no ad hoc post-fabrication adjustments to achieve synchronism. The OADM proposed here is based on the Double Grating Frustrated Coupler (DGFC), Fig. 1(a), a coupler designed to reliably operate in synchronism, [4].

© 2009 IEEE