Single-mode Wavelength Division Demultiplexer for Bit-Parallel Fiber Optic Networks

Electrical interconnections have failed to provide gigabit/sec speeds when interconnection distances extend beyond 10 meters. Employment of optical interconnections becomes necessary to solve this problem. For this program, Radiant Research, Inc. proposes a single-mode wavelength division demultiplexer (WDDM) that can support an aggregate bandwidth of up to 1000 Gbits/sec'2hd operates with the wavelength separations needed for the JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) bit-parallel (BP) network architecture. Such a device is pivotal not only for the BMDO/JPL-BP network but also for optical sensor and telecommunications applications. Based on our previous work on multimode WDDMs, the new device proposed herein will be a natural continuation of our work on multi-wavelength--based optical interconnects. Several unique features are provided through the proposed idea. The bouncing distance adjustability offers a wide tunability of wavelength separation of the WDDM, ranging from sub-nanometer to tens of nanometers, which covers all the WDDM protocols, including the JPL BP specifications and the International Telecommunications Union standards. The use of volume holograms as the dispersive elements significantly increases the diffraction efficiency (up to 100%), reducing system insertion loss and yielding a better power budget.