Compact and Low-Loss PBS-Integrated Coherent Mixer Using ZrO2-SiO2 PLC

We developed a PBS-integrated coherent mixer using a ZrO2-SiO2 PLC. Small chip size of 2.3mm×7.0mm, low insertion loss of 7.7dB and 10.3dB for signal and LO ports, and high polarization extinction ratio of more than 20dB are achieved.

Introduction

Due to rapid increase of data traffic by spreading cloud computing, video-on-demand services, and various internet of things (IoT) devices, demands for large-capacity optical transmission systems are on the rise¹. Recently, 100G coherent optical transmission systems are widely used in practical communication networks, and 100G coherent transceivers are commercially available. Under these circumstances, demands for coherent receivers for 100G systems are strong, and further downsizing and high-density integration are required for next generation receivers.