OPTICAL COMPONENTS

9/20/11
Applications
See notes
Optical Devices
Optical Devices
Active
Passive (reciprocal & non-reciprocal)
Wavelength Selectivity
Fixed
Tunable
Parameters
Temperature dependency
Insertion loss (inputoutput loss)
Inter-channel cross-talks
Manufacturability
Fast tunability
Stability and polarization dependency
Impacting the system:
- Error-free
- Selectivity
- # of channels that can be supported
- Interferences
Spectral Width
Spectral content of a channel
Passive Devices
Reciprocal (input/outputs act the same way)
Couplers
Half-wavelength plates
Non-reciprocal
Circulators
Rotators
Insulators
Couplers
Structure
NxN (e.g., 2x2)
is proportional to l ( is coupling ratio, l is coupling length)
Parameters of interest
Coupling ratio
Coupling length
Excess loss (beyond )
Type
WL dependent ( has WL-dependency)
WL independent
Splitting ratio
3dB (splitting the power evenly) - =0.5
Taps (e.g., 1 thus, a very small portion is dropped)


Couplers
They can combine or separate different wavelengths
The lights (different wavelengths) are coupled together
Example: 8x8 3-dB couplers
1310 (signal)

1550 nm
(pump)

Amplified
Signal
Half-Wavelength Plates
Passive reciprocal devices
They maintain the polarization but rotate the orientation of
polarization is rotated by by =2R; (R=+/-0.25 for /4)
Note d= R/n; d is the thickness of the birefringent plate
assuming mica or quartz plate
Passive Non-Reciprocal Devices
Types
Isolators
Faraday Rotators
Circulators

Isolators
Transmit in one direction only
Avoid reflection of laser or any reflection
One input, one output or multiple ports
Key parameters are insertion loss and excess loss
Example of circulators:
Operation of Isolators
Only Ex exists
State of polarization is fixed (SOP)
Rotator rotates by 45 degree
Operation of Isolators more realistic
Polarization Independent Isolator
Half-wavelength plates are used to rotate 45 degree
The Spatial-walk-off polarizer splits the signal into two orthogonally polarized signals
Prism
Spectral-Shape Parameters
Cascaded filters narrower passband
We desire broad passband at the end of the cascade
Thus, each filer must have a flat passband (accommodating for small changes in WL)
The flatness of the filer is measure by 1-dB bandwidth
Components
Gratings
Describe a device involving interference among multiple
optical signals coming from the same source but having
difference phase shift
There are a number of gratings
Reflective
Transmission
Diffraction
Stimax (same as reflection but integrate with concave mirrors
Gratings
--- Transmission
The incident light is transmitted through the
slits
Due to diffraction (narrow slits) the light is
transmitted in all direction
Each Slit becomes a secondary source of
light
A constructive interference will be created on
the image plane only for specific WLs that
are in phase high light intensity
Narrow slits are placed next to each other
The spacing determines the pitch of the
gratings
Angles are due to phase shift
Diffraction Gratings
It is an arrayed slit device
It reflects wavelengths in different directions
Bragg Grating Structure (notes)
Arrangement of parallel semi-reflecting plates

Fiber Bragg Gratings
Widely used in Fiber communication systems
Bragg gratings are written in wavelengths
As a result the index of refraction varies periodically along the length of
the fiber
Variation of n constitutes discontinuities Bragg structure
Periodic variation of n is occurred by exposing the core to an intense
UV interference pattern
The periodicity of the pattern depends on the periodicity of the pattern
Optical Add/Drop Using Fiber Bragg
Grating
FBG has very low loss (0.1 dB)
Temperature dependent change of fiber length
The are very useful for WDM systems
They can be used with 3-port Circulators
Optical Add/Drop Using Fiber Bragg
Grating
Fiber Bragg Chirped Grading
Fiber Bragg grating with linear variable pitch
compensates for chromatic dispersion
Known as chirped FBG
Due to chirps (pitches) wavelengths are reflected back
Each WL reflection has a different phase (depth of grating)
compensating for time variation compensating for chromatic
dispersion


Fabry-Perot Filters
A cavity with highly reflective mirrors parallel to each other
(Bragg structure)
Acts like a resonator
Also called FP Interferometer
Also called etalon

Fabry-Perot Filters (notes)
Power Transfer Function
Periodic in terms of f
Peaks are called the passbands of the transfer function
occurring at f (f=k/2)
R is the coefficient of reflection or reflectivity
A is the absorption loss

FSR and Finesse
Free spectral range (FSR) is the spacing in optical frequency or wavelength between
two successive reflected or transmitted optical intensity maxima or minima
An indication of how many wavelength (or frequency) channels can simultaneously
pass without severe interference among them is known as the finesse
Transfer function is half
Tunability of Fabry-Perot
Changing the cavity length
Changing the refractive index within the cavity
Mechanical placement of mirrors
Not very reliable
Using piezoelectric material within the cavity
Thermal instability

Multilayer Dielectric Thin Film
Dielectric thin-film (DTF) interference filters consist of alternating
quarter-wavelength thick layers of high refractive index and low
refractive index
each layer is a quarter-waveleng th thick.
The primary considerations in DTF design are:
Low-pass-band loss 0.3 dB)
Good channel spacing (> 10 nm)
Low interchannel cross-talk (> -28 dB)
Thin-Film Resonant Multicavity Filter
Two or more cavities separated by reflective dielectric thin-film layers
Higher number of cavities leads to a flatter passband
Lower number of cavities results in sharper stop band
Thin-Film Resonant Multicavity Filter
A wavelength multiplexer/demultiplexer
Mach-Zehnder
Interferometer
Uses two couplers
The coupling ratio can be different
A phase difference between two optical paths may be artificially induced
Adjusting L changes the phase of the received signal
Because of the path difference, the two waves arrive at coupler 2 with
a phase difference
At coupler 2, the two waves recombine and are directed to two output
ports
each output port supports the one of the two wavelengths that satisfies a certain
phase condition
Note:
f=C/2nL
=2f.L.(n/c)

Tunability
Can be achieved by altering n or L
Absorption Filter
Using the Mach-Zehnder Interferometer
consist of a thin film made of a material (e.g., germanium) that
exhibits high absorption at a specific wavelength region