1550 nm Volume Holographic Devices for Optical Communication Networks

Abstract

The present contribution aims to show the feasibility of LiNbO₃:Fe volume holography (VH)-based devices for optical fiber communication networks. The VH technique offers a valid alternative to the existing approaches in the building of multiplexers/demultiplexers and databases for individual wavelengths inside an optical wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) system. The use of angle multiplexing jointly with the two-lambda method and the thermal post-fixing technique allow us to achieve efficient and long-lifetime operation in the near-infrared spectral range. Optical fiber communications are rapidly growing in traffic owing to many new important services such as mobile telephony and Internet connections. Increasing capacity demand calls for more transmission bandwidth and higher bit rates. In order to exploit the entire spectrum of the low-loss regions of the fiber attenuation window, Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) transmission mode is today in common use. WDM technology combines multiple optical signals into a single fiber by transmitting each signal on a different wavelength (as happens in the radio spectrum). This means that telecom carriers can multiply the capacity of their fibers without the expensive investment of laying more fiber underground and undersea.