Lossless Avionic Wavelength Router based on Vertical Cavity Semiconductor Optical Amplifiers

Aerius Photonics proposes to develop a scalable and non-blocking lossless avionic wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) fiber optic local area network (LAN) wavelength router. The enabling photonic component for these advanced next generation routers is the Aerius’ MEMS-Tunable Vertical Cavity Semiconductor Optical Amplifier (MT-VCSOA). These MT-VCSOAs offer tunable gain, acting simultaneously as gain elements and optical filters in the router. These WDM routers and MT-VCSOAs will be designed to operate in a mesh network topology which is well suited for avionic applications because of its high redundancy and fault tolerance. The routers will have small size, weight and power (SWAP) and will be designed to operate at wavelengths in the 1550 nm region. The routers will support digital and analog signals with high throughput. The wafer-level fabrication and test of MT-VCSOAs ensures their manufacturability and low cost. In Phase I, Aerius will work in design aspects of the MT-VCSOA and WDM router and will build hardware to evaluate technical risks. In Phase II, Aerius will fully develop the 1550 nm MT-VCSOA technology and build a prototype router based on these devices.