Dynamic optical coupled system employing even-numbered Dammann gratings

Dammann gratings are well known for their ability to generate arrays of Lmiform-intensity beams from an incoming monochromatic beam. We apply the even-numbered Dammann grating to achieve dynamic optical coupled technology. A 1 x N dynamic optical coupled system is developed by employing two complementary even-numbered Dammann gratings. With this system we can achieve a beam splitter and combiner as a switch between them according to the relative shift between the gratings. Also, this system is a preferable approach in integral packaging. More importantly, this device has the potential to be applied to the splitting of a large array, e.g., 8 x 16 array and 64 x 64 array, which is difficult to be realized with conventional splitting methods. We experimentally demonstrated a 1 x 8 coupler at the wavelength of 1550 nm. Furthermore we analyze the effects of the alignment errors between gratings and the wavelength-dependent error on efficiency and uniformity. The experimental results and the influence of alignment error and wavelength-dependent error are analyzed in detail. (c) 2006 Optical Society of America.