Monolithic reconfigurable multi-functional waveguide modules for integrated optical network based on polymer photonic lightwave circuits

Reconfigurable multi-functional optical waveguide modules composed of AWG-based wavelength-channel-selectors monolithically integrated with Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) thermo-optic (TO) waveguide switch arrays and arrayed waveguide true-time-delay (TTD) lines are designed and fabricated using polymer photonic lightwave circuit technology. Highly fluorinated photopolymer and grafting modified organic-inorganic hybrid material were synthesized as the waveguide core and caldding, respectively. Thermo-optic (TO) tunable wavelength transfer matrix (WTM) function of the module can be achieved for optical routing network. The one-chip transmission loss is ∼6 dB and the crosstalk is less than ∼30 dB for the transverse-magnetic (TM) mode. The excellent optical characteristics of the modules are obtained. Proposed novel chips are flexible and scalable for the dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) optical communication network.