Abstract

Fiber-optic multichannel wavelength-division multiplexers (WDMs) with extremely low cross-coupling losses (< −60 dB), based on high optical density (OD) holographic filters, are proposed. The basic architecture of multimode holographic WDMs consists of a cascade of high OD Lippmann-Bragg holograms in waveguide geometry. Based on the optical performance of high-efficiency holographic technology¹ developed in the near-UV, visible, and near-IR regions, the intrinsic losses per channel can be as small as 0.05 dB. The number of channels in both multiplexing and demultiplexing modes can exceed 10 with channel separation being 10–15 nm. Multichannel WDMs with low intrinsic and cross-coupling losses are particularly desirable in the next-generation fiber-optic local area network applications.

© 1987 Optical Society of America