Optoscribe, a specialist in 3D waveguide technology, has released a significant upgrade to its 3D MMux photonic lantern – a device that provides an interface between singlemode and multimode components used in spatial division multiplexing (SDM).
The upgraded product has been designed and tailored to suit the latest high-performance, low-differential group delay (DGD) few mode fibre technology from OFS, without requiring any external optics.
The new photonic lantern was developed as part of the EC-funded INSPACE project, which aims to develop technology to support future optical networks based on SDM. This technology will lead to the transmission of higher data rates, with smaller footprint and reduced assembly costs, for both short and long haul communications.
The 3D MMux photonic lantern is now provided fully packaged including two or four-mode group graded-index fibres. The device can also be easily adapted to suit a particular geometry, with cores placed at arbitrary positions on demand for custom devices.
The device has a fully packaged insertion loss of <2.5dB and low polarisation dependant loss.
“Upgrading the 3D MMux photonic lantern was the next most logical step in our development programme,” said Nick Psaila, CEO of Optoscribe. “Our accurate 3D embedded waveguides allow the fabrication of devices that are impossible to produce using solely planar technologies, opening new possibilities and integration scenarios.”