The micro-optic chips are made of glass material using wafer scale photolithography and etching techniques, and micro optical elements are fabricated on both sides. The fiber array connector is an injection molded plastic receptacle, which contains an interface for the MT connector and a precision cavity for passive alignment. For the 12-channel transmitter optical sub-assembly (OSA), we incorporated 12 diffractive lenses for mode launching and reduction of back reflection, and 12 refractive lenses for laser fiber coupling; for the 12-channel receiving OSA, we incorporated 12 refractive lenses for collimating and 12 refractive lenses for focusing. This product design would also be suitable for a 4+4 parallel transceiver OSA. For parallel transmitter or transceiver applications, we incorporated a patented vortex mode launching DOE, also called a "Bandwidth Lens/spl trade/", which can optimize and improve the bandwidth/spl times/distance product of multi-mode fiber by a factor of 1.5/spl times/-2/spl times/. This vortex lens also reduces the back reflection. To reduce manufacturing cost, we implemented a passive alignment technique for the integration of micro-optics and a fiber array connector. In this paper, we also present our optical/mechanical tolerance analysis based on ray-tracing simulations and functional test data.

For telecommunications applications, particularly. for WDM and DWDM, tunable lasers are deemed as a viable. cost reduction for system and service providers. To lock tunable lasers onto the ITU (International Telecommunications Union) grid, wavelength lockers are required. Internal wavelength lockers are attractive to the tunable laser manufacturers because they reduce overall laser package size. In this paper, the authors will present. several generations of internal wavelength lockers developed at Digital Optics Corporation (DOC) which include etalon, based and non-etalon based front Wavesetter(TM) lockers and back Wavesetter lockers, and a Passively Aligned Wavesetter (PAWS(TM)) locker module. These Wavesetter wavelength lockers are designed for widely tunable, narrowly tunable and fixed wavelength lasers for channel spacing of 100 GHz, 50 GHz, 25 GHz, and arbitrary spacing (the PAWS locker module). DOC implemented its Photonic Chip(TM) integrated optics platform for the design and manufacture of these Wavesetter wavelength lockers, which feature compact size and low manufacturing cost through higher levels of integration.. In this paper, we present results from design, simulation, fabrication, and testing of these different generations of wavelength lockers.

To achieve the channel stability required by DWDM systems, lasers must be locked onto particular channels on the ITU grid. This paper details and compares two methods used for integration of wavelength lockers: assembly of discrete components and functional integration. Effective integration of wavelength lockers involves not only assembling the components, but in functional integration as well. The net device can improve performance as well as aid the laser manufacturer in module level integration.