Low loss 2-port OADM using 1-D Photonic Crystal and 3-Port Optical Circulator

Abstract The simple architecture of a 2-port optical add drop multiplexer (OADM) using a 1-D photonic crystal (PC) filter and a 3-port optical circulator is presented. A low insertion loss of less than 2dB for express channels and 7dB for a drop channel is demonstrated using a superluminescent diode laser and an optical spectrum analyzer in the 1450nm-1650nm wavelength range. The channel isolation is 18dB. The main component of the OADM is the photonic crystal filter which is realized by a simple and low cost wet anisotropic etching of <110> oriented silicon. The pass band width of the drop channel at a peak wavelength of 1557nm is less than 7nm and a thermally induced wavelength drift of 0.04nm/K is experimentally measured. Therefore, this low cost solution is best suited for metro CWDM networks, where the channel spacing is 20nm

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