CWK4-6
Narrow-Bandwidth Acousto-Optic Tunable Bandpass Filter using
Dispersion Compensating Fiber
Kwang Jo Lee, Dong Il Yeom, and Byoung Yoon Kim
Department of Physics, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Korea
kjl@kaist.ac.kr
Abstract
We demonstrate a novel all-fiber narrow
bandwidth acousto-optic tunable bandpass filter
with a UV-induced core-mode blocker in a
dispersion compensating fiber.
Keywords: Acousto-optic tunable bandpass filter,
core-mode blocker, dispersion compensating
fiber.
Tunable bandpass filters are key components in
optical networks and optical sensor systems. In
particular, acousto-optic tunable bandpass filters
(AOTBFs) have the advantages of wide and fast
wavelength tuning and variable attenuation with
simple electric control.
AOTBFs using single-mode fibers (SMFs) with
core-mode blocking elements have been reported
[1, 2, 3]. However the devices have shown large
insertion loss and broad spectral bandwidth,
which limits the practical applications such as the
dense wavelength-division multiplexed (DWDM)
optical telecommunication systems. Recently,
narrowband acousto-optic tunable filters using
dispersion compensating fiber (DCF) have been
demonstrated in notch filter [4] and bandpass
filter [5] formats. The linewidths of the filters are
0.5 ~ 0.7 nm range. The bandpass filter in ref [5]
used polarization dependent coupling and a
Sagnac interferometer. In this paper, we introduce
an all-fiber narrowband polarization independent
AOTBF using a single strand of DCF with a
UV-induced core-mode blocker. The UV-induced
core-mode blocker produces high loss for the core
mode with negligible loss for the cladding mode.
Fig. 1. Schematic of an acousto-optic
tunable bandpass filter.
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Figure 1 shows the schematic of the AOTBF. The
AOTBF is composed of a DCF, an acoustic
transducer, and a core-mode blocker in the middle
of acousto-optic interaction region. In the AOTBF,
the incident LP01 core mode is converted to the
LP11 cladding mode at resonance wavelength by a
flexural acoustic wave. The converted cladding
mode passes through the core mode blocker with
small transmission loss and is coupled back to the
core mode. On the other hand, the core mode at
non-resonant wavelengths suffers large loss at the
core mode blocker. The resonant wavelength and
the transmission coefficient of the filter can be
tuned by tuning the frequency and the voltage of
the applied rf signal, respectively.
The core-mode blocker was fabricated by side
illumination of KrF laser ( = 248 nm, pulse
repetition frequency 1 to 10 Hz) with the energy
of 280mJ/pulse onto the hydrogen-loaded DCF.
As shown in Figure 2, the UV radiation introduces
a damage track at the core-cladding boundary of
the exposed fiber section [6]. The damage track is
believed to be caused by the intense local heating
due to interaction of the UV pulse with a
free-electron plasma [7]. We are currently
investigating the details of its loss mechanism.
The core-mode blocker was about 18 mm long,
and the resultant core-mode loss was about 15 dB
over a broad wavelength range of 1200 to 1700
nm.
Fig. 2. Microscopic image of the damage
track at the core-cladding boundary of the
UV-exposed DCF.
We built an AOTBF using a DCF (- 95 ps/nm/km)
with a 20-cm-long interaction region, with a core
mode blocker located in the middle of the region.
Figure 3 shows the measured transmission
spectrum of the filter at the acoustic frequency of
2.43 MHz. The 3 dB bandwidth of 0.85 nm with
the extinction ratio of 15 dB were achieved. The
extinction ratio is determined by the loss
difference between the core and cladding mode at
the blocker. The extinction ratio depends on the
UV radiation condition in the fabrication process
of the core mode blocker. The insertion loss of the
device was 2 dB that splice loss between the DCF
and SMF. The cladding mode loss is negligible at
the core-mode blocker. We believe that the splice
loss can be reduced to less than 1 dB by
adjustment of the splicing condition between the
DCF and SMF [8]. Figure 4 shows the center
wavelength of the AOTBF as a function of the
acoustic frequency. The center wavelength could
be tuned continuously and almost linearly with
the acoustic frequency.
0 Transmission Using Cladding-Mode Coupling,
-5
Transmission [dB]
15 dB
-10
-15
-20
1562 1564 1566
Wavelength [nm]
Fig. 3. Measured transmission spectrum
of the acousto-optic tunable bandpass
filter for the acoustic frequency of 2.43
MHz.
1600
1590
Wavelength [nm]
1580
1570
1560
1550
1540
1.8 2.0 2.2 2.4
Acoustic frequency [MHz]
Fig. 4. Center wavelength of the acousto-
optic tunable bandpass filter as a
function of the acoustic frequency.
In conclusion, we have demonstrated an
all-fiber narrow-bandwidth acousto-optic tunable
bandpass filter using a dispersion compensating
fiber and a novel UV-induced core-mode blocker.
The filter is polarization independent and has a
simple structure. The insertion loss of 2 dB from
the splice loss and the 3 dB bandwidth of 0.85 nm
with the extinction ratio of 15 dB were achieved.
This device can be useful for the wavelength
selective switches in optical communication and
sensor systems.
References
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2.6 2.8 3.0
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