Abstract

In this work, the multi-channel transmitters dedicated to WDM-PON access systems and based on photonic integrated circuits (PICs) are presented and discussed. In particular, the design's details, and the results of the experimental evaluation of developed PICs are discussed in the context of targeted application. All circuits have been designed and manufactured using an indium phosphide (InP) generic process, which provides monolithic integration of all active and passive components necessary to realize high-speed and multi-channel transmitting and receiving devices. The transmitters utilize distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) lasers as continuous wave (CW) light sources combined with electro-absorption modulators (EAMs). A cyclic 8 × 8 arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) is used as the output multiplexer, to minimize the effect of potential misalignment of the wavelengths provided by the lasers with the multiplexer passband. The performance of the transmitters has been experimentally verified, confirming multi-channel operation and error-free transmission of signals with a bit rate of 10 Gb/s, which proves the applicability of developed devices in access networks and datacom systems as well.