OPTICAL FREQUENCY CONTROL FOR DWDM NETWORKS USING SUM-FREQUENCY GENERATION IN MULTILAYER WAVE-GUIDES

Future high bit-rate DWDM networks will require an ensemble of laser s ources whose frequencies can be set accurately. Considering the excell ent short-term wavelength stability of today's DFB semiconductor laser s, network frequency management could be accomplished through periodic measurement and correction of essentially free-running sources. In th is paper, we present experimental results on a novel technique for mea suring and controlling the wavelength of a semiconductor laser using t he non-linear properties of a multilayer waveguide. Using the describe d calibration procedure, absolute optical frequency control of a 1.3 m um DFB laser within better than 2 GHz is demonstrated. Our technique a llows full flexibility in channel frequency assignment, is already com patible with projected DWDM network wavelength control requirements an d lends itself to monolithic optical integration.