Carrier Depletion High-Speed Tunable Dual-Mode Converter for Mode-Division Multiplexing Networks

Mode-division multiplexing (MDM) is a promising technique to further enhance the channel capacity in modern optical communications. Tunability of the mode converter in MDM systems is very important for flexible network deployment. In this letter, we demonstrate a high-speed tunable dual-mode converter on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) platform for MDM networks. The proposed device is based on carrier depletion mechanism, which enables ultrafast conversion between TE0 and TE1 mode on the order of sub-nanoseconds. The experimental results show that the insertion losses are less than 4.6 dB and the crosstalk values are lower than −19 dB in the wavelength range from 1525 nm to 1565 nm. To verify the function of high-speed mode transition, 10 Gb/s on-off key optical payload signal is performed to control the dual-mode converter. The performance indicates this device has great potential to be a pivotal component in high-speed MDM networks.