Optical multiplexer/demultiplexer using resonant grating filters
US6212312A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 17, 1999 |
| Grant date | Apr 3, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 17, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04J14/02
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A wavelength division multiplex/demultiplexer (WDM) has a plurality of narrow-band zeroth order resonant grating filters (10a-10e) to multiplex or demultiplex multiple wavelengths that have very close channel spacing. In one embodiment, a plurality of these filters (10a14 10e) are assembled in a block (20) in parallel and at an angle to a propagation axis to reflect signals for a plurality of discrete frequency channels. The block spacing material (21) can be liquid or solid. In another embodiment, the angular orientation of the resonant grating filters (10f-10g) is varied slightly to provide reflected signals for the plurality of discrete frequency channels. Crosstalk between channels can be reduced by reflecting each signal three times. Individual filters can be of binary structure or a sinusoidal grating (16) and can be made using thin film techniques.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.