NEW FUNCTIONAL MULTIADDRESS CHANNEL SELECTIVE TERMINAL USING AN ARRAYED-WAVE-GUIDE GRATING MULTIPLEXER WITH CROSS-CONNECT LOOPBACK PATHS

The authors propose and successfully demonstrate a new functional mult iaddress channel selective (MACS) terminal for WDM ring networks. Its main component is a silica based 1.55 mu m arrayed waveguide grating 1 6 x 16 multiplexer with unique loopback paths. The proposed MACS termi nal can select desired channels with different daughter terminals by p roviding cross-connect loopback paths. A new concept is introduced on the basis of which the MACS terminal accommodates daughter terminals p roducing a mesh network topology on a physical layer. The authors clar ify the fundamental operation of the new terminal which uses only one tunable laser source to select a desired channel. An important multiad dress channel selective function in the fabricated MACS terminal is re alised, based on the spectral response in a discrete 4-channel selecti on and pulse signal transmissions in two selected channels.