Mechanical devices for aligning optical fibers using elastic metal-deformation techniques

\u3cp\u3eWe designed and realized two different mechanical devices for aligning standard lensed telecom fibers to indium-phosphide-based photonic integrated circuits (PICs). The first device (Device A) can align one fiber in three degrees of freedom, while the second device (Device B) can align two fiber arrays, independently of each other, in five degrees of freedom. The alignment principle is based on elastic deformation or bending of metal parts. The advantage of this technique is a well-controlled step-by-step operation for pigtailing PICs. The alignment accuracy of both devices is in the submicrometer range, and the position of the fibers can be adjusted using simple miniaturized set screws and differential screws. Device A is constructed for a 40-Gb/s reflective absorption modulator integrated with semiconductor optical amplifier chip, while device B is invented for multiport universal chip assemblies and tested for a chip designed for wavelength grooming of many wavelength-division-multiplexed (WDM) channels at lower bit rate into a single time-division-multiplexed (TDM) channel at the aggregate bit rate. This device shows improved thermal stability and the form factor is scaled down ten times compared to commercially available six-axis alignment stages.\u3c/p\u3

114 km repeaterless, 10 Gbit/s transmission at 1310 nm using an RZ format

With more than 50 million km of standard single mode fiber installed worldwide, there was an increasing interest in 1310-nm optical amplification. Consistent developments in this field of optical amplification that have resulted in high-gain polarization-insensitive semiconductor optical amplifiers (SOAs) for optical pre-amplification and high saturation output power SOA boosters. Implementation of these devices in a repeaterless transmission system using a return-to-zero (RZ) data format is presented

An introduction to InP-based generic integration technology

Photonic integrated circuits (PICs) are considered as the way to make photonic systems or subsystems cheap and ubiquitous. PICs still are several orders of magnitude more expensive than their microelectronic counterparts, which has restricted their application to a few niche markets. Recently, a novel approach in photonic integration is emerging which will reduce the R&D and prototyping costs and the throughput time of PICs by more than an order of magnitude. It will bring the application of PICs that integrate complex and advanced photonic functionality on a single chip within reach for a large number of small and larger companies and initiate a breakthrough in the application of Photonic ICs. The paper explains the concept of generic photonic integration technology using the technology developed by the COBRA research institute of TU Eindhoven as an example, and it describes the current status and prospects of generic InP-based integration technology