title: Optimization of distributed resistive metal film heaters in thermally tunable dispersion compensators for high-bit-rate communication systems.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Lucent Technologies, 600 Mountain Avenue, Murray Hill, New Jersey 07974, USA. pes@physics.usyd.edu.au
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Steinvurzel
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: MacHarrie
authors.forename: Kirk W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Baldwin
authors.forename: Charles W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Van Hise
authors.forename: Benjamin J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Eggleton
authors.forename: John A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Rogers