Hiromasa Tanobe

Field trial of full-mesh WDM network (AWG-STAR) in metropolitan/local area

We describe a field trial of a wavelength routing full-mesh wavelength-division-multiplexing (WDM) (AWG-STAR) network for citywide local administration in Japan. An AWG router and five WDM nodes were connected to the existing fiber in the downtown area of the city of Chitose, Hokkaido. A 5 /spl times/ 5 full-mesh network was overlaid on the Chitose intranet. A video-on-demand system based on Gigabit Ethernet links, high-definition serial digital interface signals, and synchronous digital hierarchy signals of STM-16 links are transmitted and routed simultaneously on the wavelength paths of the network. These systems are used for administration and education information sharing for city residents. The network is managed and controlled remotely from the NTT R&D Center in Atsugi, Japan, which is 50 km southwest of Tokyo and approximately 1000 km from Chitose. AWG-STAR exhibits promising potential as a large capacity network system for both simple full-mesh systems and highly secure private networks.

All-in-One 112-Gb/s DP-QPSK Optical Receiver Front-End Module Using Hybrid Integration of Silica-Based Planar Lightwave Circuit and Photodiode Arrays

We propose a new hybrid integrated optical front-end module for a 100-Gb/s-class coherent receiver using silica-based planar lightwave circuit (PLC) technology. We have developed an integrated structure composed of multichannel microcollimator optics between PLC waveguides and photodiodes (PDs), and compact hermetically sealed optical-to-electrical converters with a PD array and a transimpedance amplifier array to maintain reliability. We used the technology to fabricate an all-in-one optical front-end module for a dual polarization quadrature phase-shift-keying (DP-QPSK) coherent receiver, and confirmed that the module operated successfully for 112-Gb/s DP-QPSK signal detection.

Etching and Optical Characteristics in GaAs/GaAlAs Surface Emitting Laser Fabrication Using a Novel Spray Etch

We present some results on a novel spray wet etch technique and surface characterization in forming short cavity structures for GaAs/GaAlAs vertical cavity surface emitting lasers. A completely flat epitaxial surface was obtained for the output-side mirror by selectively removing the GaAs substrate. The surface reflectivity was uniform and the reproducibility was drastically improved.

Spray Selective Etch Process for Short-Cavity Fabrication of GaAs/GaAlAs Surface Emitting Laser

We have improved the fabrication process forming the shortcavity structure for GaAs/GaAlAs vertical cavity surface emitting lasers. A complete flat epitaxial surface for the output side mirror was obtained by selectively removing the GaAs substrate using a spray wet etch. We present some results on surface characterization.

Over 67 GHz Bandwidth and 1.5 V Vπ InP-Based Optical IQ Modulator With n-i-p-n Heterostructure

We report novel high-bandwidth InP-based Mach–Zehnder modulator and in-phase/quadrature (IQ) modulators that we realized by combining an n-i-p-n heterostructure and a capacitively loaded traveling wave electrode. The extremely low electrical and optical loss structure enhances the 3-dB electro-optic bandwidth of over 67xa0GHz without degrading other properties such as driving voltage and optical loss. The modulator also exhibits a static extinction ratio of over 24xa0dB with a Vπ of less than 1.5xa0V for the entire C-band. Furthermore, we demonstrate the first 120-Gbaud rate IQ modulation without optical pre equalization, and 100-Gb/s non-return-to-zero on-off keying modulation with a dynamic extinction ratio of over 10xa0dB.

Heterogeneously Integrated PLC With Low-Loss Spot-Size Converter and Newly Developed Waveplate PBS for DC-DP-16QAM Receiver

Digital coherent transmission systems with multilevel and multicarrier modulation formats have been moving beyond 100-G systems. In this paper, we report a one-chip 400-G coherent receiver founded on a silica-based planar lightwave circuit (PLC) integration platform. To integrate a polarization beam splitter (PBS), two polarization rotators, four-optical hybrids, and 16 high-speed photodiodes (PDs) in one chip, we employed a 5%-Δ waveguide with a minimum bending radius of 300 μm, and the heterogeneous integration of InP-PDs. To achieve a compact receiver without any degradation in optical passive performance, we also investigated a three-branched spot size converter with a low loss and a high-fabrication tolerance and a waveplate type PBS with a high-polarization extinction ratio. Using these techniques, we fabricated a dual-carrier dual-polarization (DP) 16-level quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) receiver PLC, and successfully demonstrated 32-Gbaud DP-16QAM signal demodulation for each channel.

Planar n-SI-n heterostructure athermal InP (110) optical modulator

We report an athermal InP (110) optical modulator with a simple planar n-SI-n heterostructure. A symmetrical push-pull operation provides a high-extinction ratio of >25 dB over the entire C-band and zero-chirp modulation. A Mach-Zehnder optical modulator (MZM) exhibits a 3 dB-EO bandwidth of 30 GHz and 40-Gb/s NRZ high-speed modulation with wavelength and temperature insensitive operation. We also successfully demonstrate an MZM integrated twin-IQ modulator that exhibits 56-Gb/s × 2 athermal QPSK modulation at constant drive and bias voltages.

Compact Wavelength Selective Switch Using a Bragg Reflector Waveguide Array With Ultra-Large Number (>100) of Output Ports

A wavelength selective switch (WSS) is proposed based on a Bragg reflector waveguide array, which has a footprint of only 2 × 6 mm2. We demonstrated arbitrary switching among 182 output ports by using a liquid crystal on silicon as a switching engine. The proposed WSS module length is only 10 cm, taking an advantage of the large angular dispersion in the Bragg reflector waveguide. Wavelength selective switching of 60 channels is carried out, exhibiting the devices excellent capability in providing ultra-large number of port count and wavelength channel operations at the same time. The crosstalk between adjacent ports are below -20 dB by a suitable alignment, which can be further improved by optimizing the module optics and alignments. The flexible lithography defined waveguide array design also reveals versatile potentials in integrating with other functional components.

Compact 100Gb/s DP-QPSK integrated receiver module employing three-dimensional assembly technology

We demonstrate a compact 100 Gbit/s DP-QPSK receiver module that is only 18 mm (W) x 16 mm (D) x 2.8 mm (H). The module size is reduced by using a ball grid array (BGA) package with three-dimensional assembly technology and by applying a heterogeneous integrated PLC. Error-free DP-QPSK signal demodulation is successfully demonstrated.

Reconfigurable Information-Sharing Network System Based on a Cyclic-Frequency AWG and Wavelength-Tunable Lasers

We propose an information-sharing network system, capable of forming and dynamically reconfiguring multiple information-sharing groups on the same network platform by using wavelength routing and distributed shared memory technologies. The network system comprises information-sharing terminal nodes equipped with a shared memory and a wavelength-tunable transmitter, network management terminal and an arrayed-waveguide grating (AWG). The information-sharing terminal nodes are connected to an AWG by a pair of optical fibers, forming a star-shaped topology. Information is shared among the information-sharing terminal nodes through the establishment of a logical information-sharing ring. This is accomplished by adjusting the output of the wavelength-tunable transmitter at each terminal node to an appropriate wavelength according to the wavelength-routing characteristics of the AWG wavelength router. We developed a prototype information-sharing network system, in which, as preliminary experiments, HDTV and SDTV videos were used for real-time information sharing. The dynamic reconfiguration of information-sharing groups and a simple automatic restoration technique have been successfully demonstrated. The system is applicable to distributed computer processing systems and high-capacity information-sharing applications such as high-quality videoconferences.