RESUMEN
We present a method of interfacing a conventional wavelength multiplexing and demultiplexing device with a two-dimensional (2-D) array of surface-active elements, such as micro-electromechanical system devices or photodetectors. We use diffractive optical elements to transform wavelength division multiplexed signals spread along a line into a 2-D array. We applied this technique to build a device that is compatible with an arrayed-waveguide grating. The theoretical insertion loss predicted by combining beam propagation and rigorous coupled-wave analysis is 2.75 dB. However, the experimental loss is 10 dB. The difference is due to the poor quality of the diffraction gratings. Nevertheless, the formatting operation was performed successfully.
RESUMEN
A folded structured light generator is presented. This spot generator is to be used in a modulator-based free-space optical interconnect. Three cascaded diffractive optical elements produce 4 x 8 clusters on an 800 microm x 1600 microm pitch, in which each cluster is a 4 x 4 array of 13.1-microm-radius spots on a 90-microm pitch. The folded configuration is more compact than an existing linear spot-array generator and replaces 14 optical surfaces with eight surfaces. Details of the optical design, sensitivity analysis, alignment techniques, assembly, and test results are presented.