Elastomeric Grating for Wavelength Switching

Elastomeric Grating for Wavelength Switching in Optical Communication Systems. A diffraction grating was fabricated from an elastic polymer. It was patterned after a plane reflection grating with a pitch of 1,200 lines/mm. It was characterized using HeNe laser to verify grating properties. Angular scanning as a function of applied strain was observed for two individual wavelengths. Intensity of the fiber output was optimized as an application of angular scanning in fine alignment. Beam profiles showed consistency of first order diffraction intensities at different levels of strain. This showed that the elastomeric grating’s efficiency is independent of strain. The elastomeric grating’s variable pitch can be of immense utility in optical communication systems.

A stretchable grating can be used to replace typical high-cost architectures of metal or glass gratings of different pitches that correspond to various spectral regions. By changing the pitch, the grating can be used for different ranges of wavelength. The elastomeric grating’s variable pitch can be used to scan different wavelengths over a wide selection since elastomeric grating diffracts different wavelength division multiplexing in optical communication systems. Laser beams of different wavelengths carrying different signals can be transmitted simultaneously through an optical fiber and diffracted to route the wavelengths onto separate wavelength-specific channels.

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