The Multiwavelength Optical Networking (MONET) program consists of a consortium of industrial partners, working together with the intent to demonstrate the key capabilities needed for configurable WDM networks. This involves integrating WDM technologies with optical switching technologies to provide a managed, high capacity, national scale WDM server layer to transport optical signals transparently across multiple interworking subnetworks.

This paper describes recent standardization activities on optical networking and relevant issues which are conducted in ITU-T. The organization is first described, then, several recommendations both which are already recommended and expected to be completed in a couple of years.

Planar lightwave circuits (PLCs) provide various important devices for optical wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) systems, subscriber networks and etc. This paper reviews the recent progress and future prospects of PLC technologies including arrayed-waveguide grating multiplexers, optical add/drop multiplexers, programmable dispersion equalizers and hybrid optoelectronics integration technologies.

The temperature dependence of central wavelength of optical filters is a serious problem for the dense WDM systems. This dependence is owing to the temperature dependence of optical path-length of the waveguide. In this study, we realized a temperature independent silica-based optical filter at 1. 55 µm wavelength using an athermal waveguide, in which optical pathlength is independent of temperature. First, we designed a silica-based athermal waveguide, and next we designed and fabricated a ring resonator using the athermal waveguide. As a result, we successfully decreased the temperature dependence of central wavelength to less than 4 10 ^-4 nm/K, which is 3% and 0. 3% of corresponding values of conventional silica-based and semiconductor waveguide filters, respectively.

This paper describes the design of polarization insensitive InP-based arrayed waveguide gratings (AWGs), and the characteristics of fabricated devices. The use of a deep-ridge waveguide structure made the fabrication of compact polarization-insensitive AWGs possible. As a result, a low crosstalk (-30 dB) 8-channel AWG and a large-scale (64 channel) AWG with 50 GHz channel spacing could be fabricated. An integrated circuit containing an 8-channel AWG with photodetectors is also described.

High- and low-reflection Bragg gratings with a flat-top spectral response free from ripples are proposed. Add/drop filters are created based on gratings photoinduced on planar waveguides by using the new design schemes. The measured spectral responses for the high and low reflection gratings are in good agreement with the calculated ones, and show the flat-top spectral responses.

A fiber Bragg grating, which has periodical perturbation of the refractive index in the fiber core, acts as a wavelength selective reflection filter and steep optical spectrum can be realized by forming more than ten thousand of gratings along the fiber core. Owing to capability of making steep optical spectrum, fiber Bragg gratings has been expected to be introduced practical use as multiplexing or demultiplexing filters in dense WDM transmission systems. On the other hand, radiation mode loss, reflection side mode and temperature dependence of Bragg wavelength, should be improved to put the fiber Bragg grating to practical use in dense WDM transmission systems. In this paper, an optimum design and performance of the fiber Bragg grating for dense WDM systems are described. The photosensitive cladding fiber realized less than 0. 2 dB insertion loss at transmitted signal channels and less than 0. 1 dB splicing loss with standard single-mode fibers. An adequate apodization technique in the refractive index distribution suppressed reflection side modes. A temperature compensating package, which gives longitudinal strain with negative temperature dependence to a fiber Bragg grating, minimized temperature dependence of Bragg wavelength less than 0. 001 nm/. Thermal decay of Bragg grating was also investigated and adequate annealing condition was estimated to obtain sufficient stability for practical use in dense WDM transmission.

Different-wavelength distributed feedback laser diodes with integrated modulators (DFB/MODs) are fabricated on a single wafer operate at wavelengths from 1. 52 µm to 1. 59 µm, a range comparable to the expanded Er-doped fiber amplifier gain band. A newly developed field-size-variation electron-beam lithography enables grating pitch to be controlled to within 0. 0012 nm, and narrow-stripe selective metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy is used to control the bandgap wavelength of laser active layers and modulator absorption layers for each channel. The channel spacing of fabricated 40-channel DFB/MODs is 214 GHz in average with a standard deviation of 0. 39 nm. Very uniform lasing and modulating performances are achieved, such as threshold currents about 10 mA and extinction ratios about 20 dB at -2 V in average. These devices have been used to demonstrate 2. 5-Gb/s transmission over 600 km of a normal fiber with a power penalty of less than 1 dB.

Well-defined wavelength distributed feedback laser diodes (DFB-LDs) are required in WDM network systems. Since the EDFA gain bands have been expanded, even more wavelengths are needed for large-capacity dense-WDM transmission systems. A precisely pitch-controlled Bragg grating fabricated by electron beam (EB) lithography is very attractive for realizing these DFB-LDs. This paper describes this precise pitch- and phase-controlled grating delineated by a novel method called weighted-dose allocation variable-pitch EB-lithography (WAVE). In this method, an EB-dose profile for the grating is precisely controlled by a combination of the allocation and weighting of multiple exposures. This enables us to fabricate a precise fixed-pitch grating as well as a flexible grating with a continuously chirped structure. The stitching error at the exposure field boundary, the grating pitch, and the phase shift were evaluated by using a moire pattern generated by superimposing the microscope raster scan and the grating on a wafer. We also estimated amounts of the stitching errors from fabricated and calculated lasing characteristics, and clarified that the affect of the errors on the single-mode stability of LDs is negligible. Precise wavelength controlled λ/4 phase shifted DFB-LDs were successfully demonstrated as a result of both the WAVE method and the highly uniform MOVPE crystal growth.

We have developed a multiple quantum well (MQW) electroabsorption (EA) modulator for wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) switching systems. The fabricated MQW EA gate has low polarization and wavelength-dependent loss and high extinction ratio within the wavelength range of 1545 to 1560 nm. And by using this gate ultra-high-speed switching is achieved for WDM signals. Moreover, we optimize the EA gate for the full gain-band of an erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA)(1535 to 1560 nm). This EA gate provides low polarization-dependent loss, higher extinction ratio, and high saturation input power in the wider wavelength range. These MQW EA gates will play an important role in future WDM switching systems.

We studied 2 types of polarization insensitive semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) gates for use in wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) applications: 1) a low operation current SOA gate with a small and square bulk active region but without spot-size converters and 2) a multi channel SOA gate array with tapered waveguide spot-size converters (SS-SOA) on both sides. The low operation current SOA gate provided a very low current for fiber-to-fiber loss-less operation (5. 4-7. 0 mA) and a high extinction ratio (>30 dB) over a wide wavelength range (1530-1580 nm). For multi channel array assembling, the SS is indispensable. The 4-channel SS-SOA gate array was assembled on a planar lightwave circuit (PLC) platform for the first time. The gain characteristics of each channel were very similar and a low fiber-to-fiber loss-less current of 33 mA and a high extinction ratio of nearly 40 dB were achieved in all channels. The polarization dependence was less than 1 dB. Using the fully packaged 4-channel hybrid gate array module (a 4 channel SS-SOA on PLC platform), an ultra-wide-band (1530-1600 nm) high speed wavelength selector was successfully demonstrated. Both rise- and fall-times were less than 1 ns, which makes the wavelength selector suitable for high-speed optical packet switching. Electrical and optical interference between channels were negligible.

An electroabsorption (EA) modulator array using a double optical-pass (DP) configuration has been developed to obtain high-speed modulation in parallel. Feeding electrical signals from the highly reflective side of the modulator eliminated component assembly problems with lenses and microwave feeder lines. Passive waveguide integration enabled wafers to be cleaved with very short absorbers. The degradation in frequency response was theoretically calculated to be <0. 2 dB compared to that of EA modulators without a passive waveguide. A common upper doping layer in the absorber and passive waveguide regions was introduced to attain high product throughput due to good epitaxial flatness and processing. The integrated 4-channels multiquantum well DP EA modulator array demonstrated high overall performance for a wavelength range from 1545 to 1558 nm. It features a drive voltage of 2 V for 10 dB attenuation, an insertion loss of 12 dB, and 4 channels17 GHz bandwidths for each channel, with low -20 dB crosstalk between adjacent waveguides.

Wavelength conversion is considered to be one of the key technologies for the future advanced optical networks. So far, intense efforts have been made to realize this functionality by using semiconductor lasers/amplifiers, optical fibers, LiNbO₃/semiconductor waveguides. In this paper, we propose a novel wavelength converter using an electroabsorption (EA) modulator. The operating principle is based on the cross-absorption modulation effect of an InGaAsP EA modulator. High quality conversion has been demonstrated at 20 Gbit/s over 30 nm of wavelength range. The applicability to high speed signals (>40 Gbit/s) was also demonstrated. In addition, to study the expected versatility for all optical signal processing applications, broadcasting and extinction-ratio-improvement capability were evaluated.

Input-wavelength-insensitive tunable wavelength conversion was achieved in the range of 1530 to 1560 nm using cascaded semiconductor laser wavelength converters (a DFB laser and an SSG-DBR laser). The power penalty in the wavelength conversion of input signal between 1530 and 1555 nm, where the wavelength ranged between 1537 and 1557 nm, is less than 1 dB for 5 Gbit/s signals.

Dense WDM techniques that exploit the enormous bandwidth of dispersion-shifted fibers (DSFs) while avoiding the impairments due to nonlinear effects are described. First, the nature of four-wave mixing (FWM), the dominant impairment factor in WDM transmission systems, is investigated using DSF installed in the field and laboratory experiments. This provides useful information for the practical design of WDM networks based on DSF. Second, practical techniques to reduce FWM impairment, unequal channel allocation and off-lambda-zero channel allocation (equal channel allocation in the novel 1580 nm band) along with gain-shifted erbium-doped fiber amplifiers for the 1570 to 1600 nm band, is described. Comparisons between off-lambda-zero and unequal channel allocation are provided in terms of the maximum transmission distance for various numbers of channels. Two schemes to immunize WDM systems against group velocity dispersion, span-by-span dispersion compensation and optical duobinary format, are presented. The combination of unequal channel allocation with off-lambda-zero channel allocation as well as the combination of two bands: the conventional 1550 nm band and the novel 1580 nm band are proven to be very useful in expanding the usable bandwidth of DSFs.

This paper describes the wavelength division multiplexing technology for the long-haul optical communication system, especially for the undersea cable system. At first, the present WDM technology for the undersea cable system is reviewed briefly. After that, some experiments using compensation of the dispersion slope of the transmission fiber are discussed as future technical options of undersea systems with over 100 Gbit/s capacity.

Wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) transmission systems have been intensely researched in order to increase the transmission capacity. One of the most important key devices for this use is erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) which feature a flattened gain, a high pumping efficiency and a low noise figure (NF), simultaneously. To fulfill these requirements, hybrid silica-based EDFAs (EDSFAs) composed of Al codoped and P/Al codoped EDSFs have been proposed so far. They are also attractive from the viewpoint of productivity, reliability, and cost-effectiveness. On the other hand, the optical bandwidth has been around 15 nm at most. In this paper, we have proposed newly designed hybrid EDSFAs for more than 25 nm optical bandwidth. The gain peak around 1. 53 µm can be suppressed through the saturation degree control in both EDSFs. The remaining obstacle is the diparound 1. 54 µm, which results in the relative gain non-uniformity of 10. 7% over the wavelength range from 1535 to 1560 nm. Owing to the glass composition optimization, the relative gain non-uniformity has been reduced to 5.8% without gain equalizers(GEQs), which is comparable to that of EDFFAs. As another solution, the hybrid EDSFA including two-stage Fabry Perot etalons as the GEQ has been proposed. In this configuration, the hybrid EDSFA has been designed to exhibit the gain profile similar to the summation of two sinusoidal curves, and the relative gain non-uniformity has been reduced to 3. 7%, which is almost equal to that of the hybrid EDFAs composed of EDSF and EDFF. Moreover, it has been demonstrated that newly developed hybrid EDSFAs exhibit a higher pumping efficiency and a lower NF than EDFFAs and hybrid EDSF/EDFFAs.

To expand signal wavelength bandwidth in long-haul, large-capacity WDM transmission systems, we investigated gain-equalizers (GEQs) for Erbium doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs). We applied GEQs using Mach-Zehnder type filters with two different free-spectral-ranges (FSRs) to accurately compensate for the EDFAs gain-wavelength characteristics. The 1st GEQ with a longer FSR was the main GEQ to compensate for the overall gain-wavelength characteristics, and the 2nd GEQ with a shorter FSR was the secondary GEQ to compensate for the resultant gain undulation after the 1st GEQ. The 2nd GEQ had low maximum loss and long period of equalization-spacing compared to the 1st GEQ. We designed that the FSR for the 1st GEQ was twice the signal wavelength bandwidth, and the FSR for the 2nd GEQ was two thirds of the signal wavelength bandwidth. To compensate for the asymmetry in the EDFAs gain-wavelength characteristics, we designed that the 2nd GEQ minimum-loss wavelength was shorter than the 1st GEQ maximum-loss wavelength. Using a circulating loop with a 21-EDFA chain, we confirmed the signal wavelength bandwidth expanded by the above GEQs. We also investigated the trade-off relationship between the signal wavelength bandwidth and the optical signal-to-noise ratio, as the parameter of the number of the 1st GEQ inserted in the EDFAs chain. The achieved signal wavelength bandwidth after 10,000-km transmission was 12 nm. We successfully transmitted 170 Gbit/s (325. 332 Gbit/s) WDM signals over 9,879 km employing high alumina codoped EDFAs and Mach-Zehnder type filters with long FSRs.

Optical networking is likely to result in substantial cost savings in future telecommunications networks. The scalability and design flexibility of these networks are critical features which may influence the nature of future networking products. In this paper, we experimentally investigate networking technologies for optically time division multiplexed systems. We demonstrate significant advantages in terms of scalability, design flexibility and technology interoperability over the traditional wavelength division multiplexing approach.

The effectiveness of periodic dispersion compensation on single-channel 40 Gbit/s soliton transmission system was experimentally investigated. This technique requires just the dispersion compensation fibers and wideband optical filters in the transmission line, which has no difficulty to be used in the practical system. By using polarization-division-multiplexing together with periodic dispersion compensation, single-channel 40 Gbit/s transmission over 4700 km was demonstrated. Single-polarization 40 Gbit/s transmission experiments, which are more suitable for system implementation and compatible with WDM were also conducted. We investigated the transmission characteristics and pulse dynamics in different dispersion maps and in the optimized dispersion map, single-channel, single-polarization 40 Gbit/s transmission over 6300 km was successfully demonstrated.

This paper describes the design, fabrication, and performance of a novel Ti:LiNbO₃ optical modulator with a two-stage coplanar waveguide electrode for 40 Gbit/s optical transmission systems. The structure consists of a thin lower electrode and a thick upper electrode in conjunction with a ridge structure. The lower electrode ensures low voltage and the upper layer provides good microwave characteristics. Based on simulation results, a fully-packaged module was fabricated. The measured 3-dB electrical bandwidth is 30 GHz with a half-wave voltage of 2. 9 V.

The microwave attenuation, which is the key factor for realizing very large bandwidths Ti:LiNbO₃ optical modulators is fully studied and the causes and reduction techniques are discussed in detail. Practical realization of wide-band optical modulators with low microwave attenuation and low driving voltage is also discussed.

An optical communications technology roadmap leading up to the second decade of the 21st century has been investigated to provide a future vision of the optoelectronic technology in 15 to 20 years. The process whereby technology may progress toward the realization of the vision is indicated. A transmission rate of 100 Mbps for homes and a rate of 5 Tbps for the backbone network will be required in the first decade of the 21 century. Two technology roadmaps for public and business communications networks are discussed. It is concluded both WDM and TDM technology will be required to realize such an ultra-high capacity transmission. Technical tasks for various optical devices are investigated in detail.

Wavelength tunable laser diodes are critical components in a wide variety of WDM and packet switching architectures. And also wavelength-tuned short pulses generated from the semiconductor laser diodes are of great importance for the developments of ultrahigh speed and WDM optical communication systems. Over the past several years, both continuously and discontinuously tunable lasers incorporating periodically sampled and chirped grating have been studied theoretically and experimentally. These laser diodes show the wide tuning range of above 60 nm, stable lasing condition, and large side-mode suppression ratio. Directly modulated semiconductor laser diodes, even those with a single mode, exhibit a dynamic frequency chirp during the on/off modulation. The dynamic linewidth broadening caused by such a large frequency chirp can result in a significant penalty in the performance of high-speed long-haul optical communication systems. The CW laser diodes integrated with an external EA modulator are an breakthrough to realize the high-speed optical systems with low chirp. And also the short pulse generation using the external modulator has been realized experimentally, whose principle of the pulse generation is the optical gating of the electroabsorption modulator. In this paper, widely tunable laser diodes incorporating periodically sampled and chirped gratings and an external modulator are analyzed using an improved time-domain dynamic model. First, it is demonstrated that the improved model is very powerful in simulating the complex laser diodes with active and passive sections. And, the dynamic properties of the sampled grating DBR and chirped grating DBR laser diodes are investigated. Second, the modulation characteristics of the laser diode integrated with the external electroabsorption modulator are studied. It is shown that the external modulation are superior to the direct modulation in the aspect of the lower frequency chirp. And the pulse generation by the optical gating of the external modulator is observed theoretically.

Macroscopic method for quantization of the evanescent fields brought about by total reflection is presented. Here, a semi-infinite space is assumed to be filled with a transparent dispersive dielectric with dielectric constant ε(ω) to the left of the plane z = 0, and be empty to the right of the plane. The wave is assumed to be incident from the left, and so the whole field is composed of the triplet of incident, reflected, and transmitted waves labeled by a continuous wave vector index. The transmitted wave in free space may be evanescent. The triplet is shown exactly without using slowly varying field approximation in dispersive medium to form orthogonal mode for different wave vectors, which provides the basis for the quantization of the triplet with taken into account of medium dispersion. The exact orthogonal relation reduces to the well known one if the dielectric is nondispersive, ε/ω = 0. By using the field expansion in terms of the orthogonal triplet modes, the total field energy is found to be the sum of the energies of independent harmonic oscillators. A discussion is also made on the wave momentum of evanescent field.

A combined mode-matching and moment method is proposed to calculate the capacitance matrix of wedge-supported cylindrical microstrip lines with an indented ground. Each indent is modeled as a multilayered medium in which the potential distribution is systematically derived by defining reflection matrices. An integral equation is derived in terms of the charge distribution on the strip surfaces. Galerkin's method is then applied to solve the integral equation for the charge distribution. The effects of strip width, strip separation, indent depth, and indent shape are analyzed.

2-pole band-pass filters (BPFs) with tap-excitation are prepared by using high temperature superconductors (HTS). The possibility of realizing superconducting coplanar filters with attenuation poles is revealed.