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This paper describes a free-space 1 timesP cyclically tunable optical multiplexer based on a stationary tunable blazed grating (TBG). An analytical model is used in deriving a closed- form expression for the transmission of the deformable grating, given an actuation scheme that requires only (P -1) control signals. A 1 times3 demultiplexer is implemented using a six-element TBG, and tuning over a free spectral range of 13.5 nm in C-band is demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The intensive investment in optical microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) in the last decade has led to many successful components that satisfy the requirements of lightwave communication networks. In this paper, we review the current state of the art of MEMS devices and subsystems for lightwave communication applications. Depending on the design, these components can either be broadband (wavelength independent) or wavelength selective. Broadband devices include optical switches, crossconnects, optical attenuators, and data modulators, while wavelength-selective components encompass wavelength add/drop multiplexers, wavelength-selective switches and crossconnects, spectral equalizers, dispersion compensators, spectrometers, and tunable lasers. Integration of MEMS and planar lightwave circuits, microresonators, and photonic crystals could lead to further reduction in size and cost [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We present tunable optical filters based on a modified Gires-Tournois interferometer. The back reflection plane of the interferometer is replaced with a one-dimensional micromirror array for phase modulation. Using Gaussian beam optics, we show that the transfer function of the device has the form of the transversal filter in digital signal processing. The design and analysis techniques of conventional digital filters can, therefore, be adapted to tunable optical filters. Both the amplitude and phase of the transfer function can be controlled by reconfiguring the micromirrors. Application examples in dispersion compensation and variable bandwidth bandpass filtering are discussed and experimentally demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We demonstrate system level performance and rapid switching (10 mus) of a 1times3 wavelength multiplexer/demultiplexer (mux/demux) based on a Gires-Tournois interferometer with cyclically tunable center wavelengths. Group delay ripple within the passband is measured to be <8 ps. Less than 0.5-dB power penalty is observed for 10-Gb/s data propagating through the demux. Additionally, rapid optical code-division multiple-access code hopping using this tunable demux has been shown [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This letter describes a free-space optical fiber cross-connect that uses a pair of micromirror arrays to redirect optical beams from an input-fiber array to an output array. This confocal switch architecture is well suited for simultaneous switching of multiple wavelength channels. We show that confocal switches with low insertion loss, low crosstalk, and large port counts can be implemented with surface-micromachined mirror arrays, and we demonstrate a 2×2 single-mode (1550 nm) switch configuration with insertion loss of -4.2 dB and crosstalk of -50.5 dB. Our micromirror design has sufficient size and angular deflection for scaling to 32×32 ports [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]