Parallel arrayed waveguide grating for wavelength-mode hybrid multiplexing

The combination of wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) and mode division multiplexing (MDM) will increase the optical communication capacity significantly. In this configuration, we need multiple WDM devices serving as the inputs of the MDM device to excite modes at all the wavelengths. However, there is still no demonstration of integrated parallelWDMdevices specifically designed for wavelength-mode hybrid multiplexing. Here, we propose and demonstrate a single 2x8 arrayedwaveguide grating (AWG) for the multiplexing of 2 linearly polarized (LP) modes at 4 wavelengths with an MDM device. This parallel AWG concept can be further extended to support more wavelengths and introduce more spatial modes for high-capacity data transmission. (c) 2022 Optica Publishing Group

Automated summary

A single 2x8 arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) is proposed and demonstrated for the multiplexing of 2 linearly polarized (LP) modes at 4 wavelengths with an MDM device. This parallel AWG concept can be further extended to support more wavelengths and introduce more spatial modes for high-capacity data transmission.