Optimization of distributed resistive metal film heaters in thermally tunable dispersion compensators for high-bit-rate communication systems.
Tunable dispersion compensators are an essential component for optical networks operating at 40 Gbits/s and beyond. One fiber-based tunable dispersion compensator that has proved to be effective consists of a chirped fiber Bragg grating tuned by a thin-film distributed resistive heating element. We describe several modifications to the heater design that minimize temperature-induced higher-order dispersion, eliminate the need for a second stabilization heater when the device is operated at constant ambient temperature, and significantly lower its maximum operating temperature. We demonstrate a tunable dispersion compensator with a single thin-film heater that provides over 500 ps/nm of tunable dispersion over a fixed 100-GHz bandwidth with a maximum operating temperature of less than 125 degrees C above ambient.
Steinvurzel
Paul
P
Lucent Technologies, 600 Mountain Avenue, Murray Hill, New Jersey 07974, USA. pes@physics.usyd.edu.au
MacHarrie
Robert A
RA
Baldwin
Kirk W
KW
Van Hise
Charles W
CW
Eggleton
Benjamin J
BJ
Rogers
John A
JA