Reconfigurable optical interleaver modules with tunable wavelength transfer matrix function using polymer photonics lightwave circuits

A transparent reconfigurable optical interleaver module composed of cascaded AWGs-based wavelength-channel-selector/interleaver monolithically integrated with multimode interference (MMI) variable optical attenuators (VOAs) and Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) switch arrays was designed and fabricated using polymer photonic lightwave circuits. Highly fluorinated photopolymer and grafting modified organic-inorganic hybrid material were synthesized as the waveguide core and caldding, respectively. Thermo-optic (TO) tunable wavelength transfer matrix (WTM) function of the module can be achieved for optical routing network. The one-chip transmission loss is ~ 6 dB and crosstalk is less than ~25 dB for transverse-magnetic (TM) mode. The crosstalk and extinction ratio of the MMI VOAs were measured as -15.2 dB and 17.5 dB with driving current 8 mA, respectively. The modulation depth of the TO switches is obtained as ~18.2 dB with 2.2 V bias. Proposed novel interleaver module could be well suited for DWDM optical communication systems.