Fabrication of 2 GHz-spaced 16-channel arrayed-waveguide grating demultiplexer for optical frequency monitoring applications

The authors report on the fabrication of a 2 GHz-spaced 16-channel arrayed-waveguide grating (AWG) demultiplexer for monitoring the optical frequency of DWDM networks. This was achieved by employing a new AWG configuration, where the path of each arrayed waveguide winds backwards and forwards across a 4 inch diameter wafer without crossing any other waveguides. The loss and crosstalk values of the AWG were 4.5 to 6.8 dB and -23 to -20 dB, respectively, for all 16 channels.