We demonstrate a wavelength division multiplexing approach for byte-wide optical interconnects over multimode fiber optic ribbon cable using filters based on common plastic ferrules. A dual wavelength link with eight cascaded filter stages exhibits bit error rates {le}l0{sup -l4}.

Integrated optic modulators have been proposed for transmitting signals from electronic and electrooptic devices which must operate at 77 K and colder. In this letter, the V/spl pi/ of LiNbO/sub 3/ modulators at temperatures as cold as 10 K are measured. A /spl sim/9.25% increase over room temperature values is seen. This increase is attributed primarily to a temperature dependence in r/sub 33/. In addition, temperature-induced insertion loss changes are evaluated for two different pigtailing techniques and one is shown to be suitable for cryogenic operation.

The assembly of opto-electronic (OE) devices such as optical modulators, photo-diodes and laser diodes require alignment, placement and attachment of micro components with precisions varying from under a micron to a few microns. For example, in an optical modulator the fibers may need to be aligned and attached to the substrate with sub-micron accuracy. The process of attaching optical fibers to OE devices such as optical modulators or laser diodes is known as fiber pigtailing. This process demands sub-micron alignment tolerances and is presently carried out by viewing the devices under a microscope and manually adjusting sub-micron stages to align die fiber with respect to the devices.

We discuss the design, fabrication, and evaluation of high speed integrated optical devices for application to photonics insirumentation systems. Specifically, we have demonstrated integrated optical devices with bandwidths in excess of 25GHz and implemented these devices in single-shot, streak camera based recording schemes.

Several scientific programs at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) require instrumentation that can capture optical signals with high fidelity. Typically, they require high temporal resolution, high spatial resolution, and high dynamic range. The instrument of choice for most of these multichannel, data-recording applications is the optical streak camera. We have evaluated three optical streak camera systems under similar conditions: (1) the EG&G model L-CA-15 streak camera, designed and built under U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) contract, with a streak tube designed for a time response of a few picoseconds; (2) an in-house (LLNL) design, with an ITT F4157 streak tube that operates in the extraction mode; and (3) a Thomson-CSF model TSN 506 streak camera, with an ITT F4157 streak tube that also operates in the extraction mode. All three systems were found to be capable of time response better than 40 ps FWHM, a dynamic range of greater than 100, and spatial resolution greater than 5 line pairs per millimeter (lp/mm). The experimental setup and plots of results are presented and discussed.

We have investigated all-optical modulators in gallium arsenide integrated optical waveguides; these modulators use electron-hole pair generation to alter the propagation characteristics of a guided light beam.

Currently, the Hamamatsu and Sandia Corporations use lithium niobate (LiNbO3) in their crystal streak cameras. However, these systems have low resolution due to the low electrooptic coefficient of LiNbO3, 30 x 10-12, which requires excessive voltage drives for the system. For a practical system, new tungsten bronze crystals such as barium niobate [Sr1-xBaxNb2O6, or SBN:1-x(%) for short] must be used to achieve higher resolution and lower voltage drive requirements. Electrooptic coefficients of 400 x 10-12 m/V for SBN:60 and 1400 x 10-12 m/V for SBN:75 give improvements in resolution of 13 and 47, respectively. In this paper, we discuss the highlights of a light deflector developed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) for a streak camera that uses tungsten bronze crystals grown at Rockwell International Science Center. We address the design and fabrication of these crystals and include experimental results from our deflector experiment, the purpose of which is to determine the feasibility and expected performance of the crystal streak camera using tungsten bronze crystals.

The use of optical fiber for the transmission of information over relatively long distances is being recognized as the only viable solution to many data transmission problems, particularly those requiring high information density and faithful temporal content. This necessary reliance upon the optical carrier has meant that the image-tube-based optical streak camera is often the instrument of choice for recording single-shot multi-parameter events with high temporal resolution. At first, this seems to be the ideal instrumentation combination with no need for improvement.