The performance of a 5-GHz-spaced, 16-channel frequency selection switch (FS-SW) for optical frequency division multiplexing (FDM) distribution systems is described. The silica waveguide-type FS-SW is constructed with four serially connected periodic filters integrated on a silicon chip. The required crosstalk level for each periodic filter of the FS-SW was estimated to be -21.0 dB for a 16-channel FS-SW and 23.6 dB for a 128-channel FS-SW. Crosstalk can be independent of the power coupling ratio of the 3-dB-coupler regions by choosing suitable connecting configurations for the periodic filters. A controller for the switch is also described and the desired channel can be selected successfully from among 16 optical carriers under an average crosstalk level of less than -20 dB.>

A Mach-Zehnder (MZ) interferometer design is presented for application to wavelength-division multiplexed/frequency division multiplexed (WDM/FDM) systems. A variety of integrated-optic devices with low loss and low crosstalk, using silica-based waveguides, are demonstrated. MZ interferometers operate as multi/demultiplexers or frequency-selection switches. The channel spacing is determined by the waveguide arm length difference, and a spacing range of 1 GHz to 36 THz, corresponding to a wavelength spacing of 0.008-250 nm, is achieved. The devices for the WDM region have low fiber-to-fiber loss of 0.5 dB, and the devices for the FDM region have higher losses of 2-5 dB. Crosstalk of less than -15 dB was obtained for all the devices. A 5-GHz-spaced 16-channel frequency selection switch and a 10-GHz-spaced eight-channel multi/demultiplexer were also fabricated with a total loss of 5 dB and total crosstalk of -10 dB or less.>