Full-mesh T- and O-band wavelength router based on arrayed waveguide gratings

Area of Science:

• Photonics and Optical Communications
• Integrated Optics
• Semiconductor Device Technology

Background:

• The demand for high-capacity optical networks necessitates advanced wavelength routing solutions.
• Existing routers face limitations in bandwidth and spectral coverage, particularly in the T- and O-bands.
• Arrayed waveguide gratings (AWGs) are key components for wavelength selective routing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and demonstrate an ultra-broadband full-mesh wavelength router.
• To achieve efficient routing across the T- and O-bands for high-speed data transmission.
• To evaluate the performance of the router in terms of data rate, power penalty, and tuning speed.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing a 3-stage cascaded arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) architecture.
• Implementing a hybrid approach combining coarse waveband routing and fine channel routing.
• Fabricating T-band-specific silica-based AWGs and integrating quantum dot semiconductor optical amplifiers.
• Conducting experiments to demonstrate data transmission and wavelength routing capabilities.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated 10 Gbps data transmission across multiple wavelengths within a 7.4 THz range.
• Achieved power penalties below 1 dB for the transmitted data.
• Showcased wavelength routing with tuning times under 400 ms for a 9.4-nm waveband.

Conclusions:

• The proposed ultra-broadband wavelength router effectively supports T- and O-bands.
• The cascaded AWG architecture combined with semiconductor optical amplifiers enables high-speed, low-loss data transmission.
• The demonstrated performance metrics highlight the potential of this router for next-generation optical networks.