Narrow-channel-spacing 32-channel AWG multiplexer with an innovative alignment method

A 32-channel 50 GHz spaced arrayed-waveguide grating(AWG) with our innovative configuration has been designed and fabricated. The performance of the device has been fully tested by using a system that consists of a tunable laser light source (TLS), an optical power meter and a polarization controller. The insertion loss (IS) of the device is 4.2–7.4 dB. The crosstalk is about −28 dB. TheIS uniformity is less than 3.3 dB. With our configuration, the performance of the device has been enhanced effectively and the difficulty in alignment process has been decreased obviously. Project supported by Nation Key Basic R&D Plan of China (G2000036602), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 69889701)