Integration of arrayed wavelength division multiplex components into an optical add drop module transmitter and receiver

The inroads made by arrayed component technology in the deployment of commercial dense wavelength division multiplex (DWDM) based networks has been limited by a number of issues arising from the hybrid integration of optical and electronic array elements. These are not only due to the complexities encountered during fabrication of laser arrays but are also related to the thermal management of these arrays, laser drivers and receiver electronics and the optoelectronic packaging of these components. This paper discusses the optoelectronic packaging and hybrid integration of an eight-channel DWDM transmitter and receiver to be used in an optical add/drop module (OADM). The OADM operates in a synchronous optical network (SONET) environment at OC-48 (2.488 Gb/s), with six differential add/drop channels, three electrical, and three optical.