A High-Performance, Low-Cost Multi-Wavelength Source and other Advanced Components Based on a COEO

OEwaves, Inc. proposes to design (Phase I), fabricate, and demonstrate (Phase II) a novel multi-wavelength optical source called a coupled opto-electronic oscillator (COEO) - for UDWDM communications applications. A single COEO simultaneously generates 100 more stable optical carriers on a precisely fixed grid that cannot drift (e.g. 25 GHz, 12.5 GHz, 1GHz, or any other desired spacing) and will replace at significantly lower cost the entire array of semiconductor lasers and associated frequency stabilization circuitry found in conventional DWDM transmitter systems. The COEO is a versatile, multi-functional component that also fulfills other high-performance UDWDM applications, including all-optical clock recovery, digital and analog data recovery, and ultra-high spectral purity master optical clock synchronization and RF clock generation. This SBIR project will leverage and extend technology developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and licensed exclusively to OEwaves. We will focus on transforming the basic design concept proven at JPL-embodied in shoebox-sized benchtop prototypes built from discrete optics-into an integrated devices that consumes less than 500 mW, fits in a conventional microelectronic package, tolerates vibration and shock, requires no input other than power, and lends itself to low-cost automated production.