Athermal Performance of Bulk Grating Wavelength Division Multiplexers/ Demultiplexers
Dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) has become a viable means to decrease cost of ownership in the fiber optic plant by enabling additional services (and corresponding increased revenue opportunity) while minimizing equipment capital investments. This has led to increasing demand for DWDM technology, giving rise to a variety of optical mux/demux technologies. Ironically, bulk diffraction gratings, one of the most mature technologies, is now the newest technological leader in the DWDM field. This paper evaluates a truly passive unitary path-based diffraction grating design from Confluent Photonics. The performance of optical parameters are evaluated and shown over temperature for RAM-20-200. The resulting superior performance arises from Confluent Photonics designs that increase reliability, reduce system costs, and inherently exhibit athermal properties for mux/demux applications.

download technical paper

Mux/Demux Optical Specifications and Measurements
DWDM meets the need for increased bandwidth by increasing the number of wavelengths that can be added onto a single optical fiber. Accordingly, equipment vendors must identify the proper wavelength mux/demux technology that will optimize their system design. In selecting and deploying proper optical mux/demux technology, CATV and Telecom equipment vendors often review specification sheets to evaluate products. However, without an industry standard to report these specifications, DWDM suppliers document their specifications in different ways. These differences can make it appear that one product or technology is superior to another by omitting important facts. This can lead to misinformed decisions about products or technology - and serious system design ramifications. This paper proposes the proper reporting of optical specifications and defines how measurements are taken and their meaning to the system architect.

download technical paper