Multilane Photonic Spectral Processor Integrated in a Spatial and Planar Optical Circuit for a Space-Division Multiplexing Network

We developed a multilane photonic spectral processor array integrated with a spatial and planar optical circuit platform. This device enables individual control of the optical power in the spatial and wavelength domains by controlling the phase pattern on liquid crystal on a silicon spatial light modulator and the heater electricity of a waveguide-based variable attenuator. We constructed a prototype device including an array of seven spectral processors. We transmitted 100-Gbps DP-QPSK signals over seven spans with a small optical-signal-to-noise ratio penalty of 0.05 dB, which suggests that the device can work in actual networks. As an application, we demonstrated gain equalizing of a multicore erbium-doped fiber amplifier (MC-EDFA). The device equalized the gain spectra of the MC-EDFA to an accuracy of ±0.8 dB over 30 nm.