Lithographically-Scribed Planar Holographic Optical CDMA Devices and Systems

A phase II SBIR program encompassing the development of advanced multiplexers for custom coarse WDM communication systems based on holographic Bragg reflectors (HBRs), a building block component of integrated holographics, is proposed. Integrated holographics harnesses the nanofabrication capability of state-of-the-art DUV photolithographic tools and planar waveguides to provide high performance and low cost devices for communications, optical signal processing, and spectral filtering/spectral target recognition. Integrated holographics forms a powerful basis for uniquely photonic integrated circuits wherein signal streams freely overlap and intersect as they are transported and processed. Coarse multiplexer devices may prove disruptive to the commercial multiplexer market and uniquely provide upgrade paths of existing DoD avionics platforms through hybrid integration with lasers and detectors. HBR multiplexers, optimized for DoD avionics solutions, may be configured to operate in single or multimode environments with the latter configuration supporting existing fiber infrastructure. HBR multiplexers offer pathways to low cost replication which is vital in meeting emerging communication needs in data communications and access networks as well as in DoD networks.