On-Chip Multichannel Dispersion Compensation and Wavelength Division MUX/DeMUX Using Chirped-Multimode-Grating-Assisted Counter-Directional Coupler

Abstract

On-chip optical dispersion compensation and wavelength division multiplexing/demultiplexing (WDM) are highly demanded functions for optical communications. In this work, we proposed a multichannel dispersion compensation structure based on chirped multimode grating within a counter-directional coupler (CMG-CDC). Simultaneous wavelength division multiplexing and demultiplexing can be realized within a compact footprint. A device design for four-channel CMG-CDC at the C/L (1530–1565 nm) band is presented with a channel spacing of 20 nm assisted by a grooved multimode waveguide structure. The average dispersion for all channels is about −2.25 ps/nm with a channel bandwidth of about 3.1 nm. The device is highly compact and highly scalable, which makes it rather convenient for increasing the group velocity dispersion (GVD) and channel number, indicating flexible applications for versatile systems, including typically coarse wavelength division multiplexer four-lane (CWDM4) transceivers.