Packaging and environmental stability of thermally controlled arrayed-waveguide grating multiplexer module with thermoelectric device

We designed and fabricated arrayed-waveguide grating (AWG) modules with thermoelectric (TE) devices, and investigated their wavelength controllability and stability. The fabricated AWGs had 16 channels with a spacing of 0.8 nm in the 1.55 /spl mu/m band. We confirmed that the center wavelength could be kept constant in a precise 0.02 mn range at ambient temperatures from -10 to 70/spl deg/C and moreover could be tuned over a 0.35 nm range. We performed environmental tests with reference to the Bellcore requirements. These results confirmed both the stability of the AWG module under severe conditions and its mechanical strength.