Hirohisa YOKOTA^*, Jun-ichi IGARASHI, Yoshitaka SATODA, Satoru OHUCHI and Yutaka SASAKI

Department of Systems Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Ibaraki University, 4-12-1, Nakanarusawa, Hitachi, Ibaraki 316-8511, Japan

(Received February 29, 2002; Accepted March 15, 2002)

A new all-fiber optical add-drop multiplexer (ADM) using a pair of fiber grating couplers (FGCs) was proposed and first demonstrated. It was theoretically and experimentally shown that both drop and add efficiencies could be maximized in the proposed ADM. It was also clarified that the crosstalk between dropped and added signals could be improved in the proposed ADM compared with that in the single FGC. Drop and add operations in the ADM for 3-channel WDM signals with 1.6 nm wavelength spacing were confirmed. The ADM with signal amplification ability, which consists of a pair of FGCs, an EDF, and a pump-LD, was proposed and demonstrated. It was confirmed that the dropped and transmitted optical signals could be amplified in the ADM, and would be able to expand fiber routing spans.

Key words: optical fiber coupler, fiber Bragg grating, add-drop multiplexer, erbium doped fiber amplifier, WDM transmission