Design of a wideband tunable AWG using electro-optic polymers and push-pull electrode configuration for ultrafast photonic switching applications

Rita Asquini; Antonio d'Alessandro; Andrea Salusti; Claudio Gizzi

doi:10.1117/12.511274

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14 August 2003 Design of a wideband tunable AWG using electro-optic polymers and push-pull electrode configuration for ultrafast photonic switching applications

Rita Asquini, Antonio d'Alessandro, Andrea Salusti, Claudio Gizzi

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Proceedings Volume 5246, Active and Passive Optical Components for WDM Communications III; (2003) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.511274
Event: ITCom 2003, 2003, Orlando, Florida, United States

Abstract

A tunable waveguide grating router (WGR) design is reported, where a subpicosecond phase shift is obtained by means of the electro-optically induced refractive index change in the arms of an arrayed-waveguide grating (AWG) made of highly nonlinear poled polymer CLD-75/APC. The polymer consists of a guest-host system, formed by a ring-locked phenyltetraene bridged cromophore dispersed in an amorphous polycarbonate, with coefficient r₃₃=55pm/V and propagation losses of 1.7dB/cm. We propose a multilayer structure on Si substrate, where segments of each waveguide of the AWG are sandwiched between a ground gold electrode and electrodes whose length varies over the AWG. Numerical simulations of a device with electrode length difference of 250μm show a tuning range of 11nm centered at 1550nm by varying the applied voltage from -90V to +90V. From the optimized AWG, a WGR operating with 16 channels spaced by 100GHz has been designed. The WGR is made of single-mode rib waveguides and buffers whose thicknesses are respectively 1.8μm and 1.7μm. A broader tunability range is obtained using the push-pull technique, which induces a refractive index change of opposite sign in two halves of the AWG. A crosstalk of -40dB with tuning range of 22nm over the C-band was figured out.

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Rita Asquini, Antonio d'Alessandro, Andrea Salusti, and Claudio Gizzi "Design of a wideband tunable AWG using electro-optic polymers and push-pull electrode configuration for ultrafast photonic switching applications", Proc. SPIE 5246, Active and Passive Optical Components for WDM Communications III, (14 August 2003); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.511274

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