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Mach-Zehnder interferometer with a uniform wavelength period
Takayuki Mizuno1, Tsutomu Kitoh, Manabu Oguma
1NTT Photonics Laboratories, NTT Corporation, Atsugi, Kanagawa 243-0198, Japan. mizuno@aecl.ntt.co.jp
Optics Letters
|March 10, 2004
Summary
Researchers developed a novel optical filter with a periodic response to wavelength, unlike conventional filters. This breakthrough uses a phase-generating coupler (PGC) to create wavelength-dependent phase shifts in optical delay lines.
Area of Science:
- Photonics and Optical Engineering
- Waveguide Optics
- Integrated Optics
Background:
- Conventional optical filters exhibit periodic responses to optical frequency.
- Existing filter designs lack wavelength-specific periodic responses.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce a novel optical filter with a periodic response concerning wavelength.
- To demonstrate a new method for designing optical filters using phase-generating couplers.
Main Methods:
- Utilized optical delay lines and couplers to construct the filter.
- Incorporated a phase-generating coupler (PGC) to introduce wavelength-dependent nonlinear phase shifts.
- Applied a transformation method to a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI).
Main Results:
- Successfully designed and fabricated an optical filter with a periodic response to wavelength.
- Demonstrated the first Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) with a uniform wavelength period.
- The PGC enabled simultaneous control of phase and amplitude coupling ratios.
Conclusions:
- This work presents the first optical filter with a periodic response tunable by wavelength.
- The developed PGC technology offers a new pathway for designing advanced optical filters.
- The fabricated MZI on a silica-based planar lightwave circuit validates the proposed method.