Smart dynamic wavelength equalizer based on an integrated planar optical circuit for use in the 1550-nm region

A microprocessor-controlled dynamic wavelength equalizer is presented. Th subsystem is based on an integrated optical circuit made in silica and covers a large portion of the usable region of the electromagnetic spectrum for optical fiber transmission (1530-1565 nm). The chip is connected in a software-controlled feedback loop, and with its dynamic range of /spl sim/7 dB for each channel, the system is capable of flattening the spectral response of an erbium-doped fiber amplifier to within 0.35-dB peak-to-peak. Insertion loss equals /spl sim/8 dB.