Naotaro Nakata

Cost-effective optical module for optical access system

Drastic cost reduction is essential to achieve fiber-to-the-home. The optical module is the key component for a dramatic cost reduction because it dominates the cost of the optical access system. Waveguide integration technique is effective to realize complex function, however, microoptics integration is fit for simple function, as 3-dB beam splitting from laser diode and to photodiode. The optical module for compact disk players is a successful forerunner. Learning from this, a cost-effective optical module for single-mode fiber (SMF) transmission is successfully designed. This letter introduces the design concept and its performance.